The Foundation for the Future
by Teddylonglong
Summary: Before their first Hogwarts year, Harry and Hermione undergo training with the founders of Hogwarts. How will they fit into their future's class? Completely AU, partly OOC, probably Dumbledore/Weasley bashing. Rating just to be sure. HP/HG
1. Chapter 1

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

It was two days before Harry Potter's eleventh birthday. The boy knew that he was not going to have a present let alone a birthday party - freaks didn't have such things.

On this evening, however, all of a sudden, something that looked like a small present appeared in his cupboard under the stairs, seemingly out of nowhere and began hovering right in front of his face as if it wanted to say 'Take me, I'm yours.'

Before Harry knew what he was doing, he automatically reached for the small package, only to sense a distinct pull behind his navel and feel the world around him rotate, faster and faster, before it suddenly turned black in front of his eyes.

HP

By the time the movement became slower and finally stopped, he realised in shock that his cupboard was gone from the view. He now found himself in a beautiful room, sitting on the floor next to a girl of about his age, while four adults were standing in front of them. What was most intriguing was the smile that he received from the adults. Never before had anyone smiled at him, the freak, in such a nice and comforting way.

 _'Am I dreaming?'_ he wondered, letting his eyes wander around his surroundings in disbelief.

The girl next to him was the first to speak. "Excuse me, but where are we? I was supposed to go to bed, when a small gift appeared in front of me, and when I touched it, I ended up here," she said, giving first Harry and then the adults a questioning look, before adding, "I'm Hermione, and I'm eleven."

Only now did Harry notice that the girl was cradling a thick book close to her chest. _'She must like books,'_ he thought, somehow immediately feeling comfortable in the girl's presence. _'Maybe she'll allow me to read it,'_ he thought, hopefully.

"Welcome Hermione and Harry," one of the nice women addressed them in a soft voice. "You're Harry, and you're eleven, too, is that right?" she then asked him.

"I'm Harry, but I'm only going to be eleven in two days' time," Harry replied in a barely audible voice, trying to not panic, as the question _'Why do they know my name and how old I am?'_ pushed itself to the forefront of his mind. He absentmindedly followed the pattern of a large animal, which he could not recall having ever seen before, on the carpet, on which he and the girl were sitting.

"As you're both almost eleven," the lady who had just greeted them spoke again, "you'll already know that you're supposed to attend Hogwarts in about six weeks' time."

While Hermione nodded eagerly, stating that she couldn't wait for school to commence, Harry gave the kind lady a sad look, knowing that he only was a freak to whom normal things wouldn't apply.

"Have you already heard of Hogwarts?" the lady asked, kindly.

"No Madam," Harry replied, not trusting to raise his voice to more than a small whisper.

"Oh Harry, it's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Hermione informed him, sounding extremely excited. Turning to the adults, she added, "Maybe he hasn't received his Hogwarts letter yet."

"Very well," the lady continued to speak, "the four of us are the founders of Hogwarts, and I'm a seer. I've had many visions about the two of you, and you're going to fulfil important tasks during your time at Hogwarts. Therefore, the four of us have decided to train you, before we'll take you back to the future, where you'll become students at our school."

"The founders?" Hermione queried in apparent disbelief. "Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, is that you?" Seeing the four adults nod and smile, she still could not believe what seemed to have happened. "But Hogwarts was founded in 981, and we have 1991. You can't have brought us more than one thousand years into the past now, can you?" she asked in obvious doubt, before she showed the founders her book and informed them that _'Hogwarts: A History'_ was her absolute favourite.

"I'd love to borrow and read your book some time," Rowena replied with apparent interest, making Hermione cast her a broad smile.

"Indeed, we brought you one thousand years into the past, to the year 991 to be exact," Godric confirmed. "In fact, Harry here is the first heir of all four of us, and you're going to be his betrothed in the future, which is one reason why we decided to train the two of you together. The other reason is, like Rowena already said, there's going to be a war in your time, for which we want to prepare you both in order for you to win said war."

"Thank you very much for your offer," Hermione said, thoughtfully, "but do my parents know about this?"

"Your parents don't need to know, child," Rowena replied, smiling. "At least not at this time. We'll take both of you back to exactly the time from where you vanished, no matter how long you stay here with us, and then you can tell them everything."

"Frankly speaking, we'd like to keep you here for at least a year and have you attend Hogwarts in our time," Godric explained, "maybe two or even three years if you wish."

"But won't our parents notice if we return there being fourteen instead of eleven?" Hermione asked with apparent bewilderment, causing the man that had to be Salazar to chuckle.

"We'll give you a potion to return you back to your current age, before sending you back," the potions master promised, smirking. "You'll have your let's say fourteen-year-old mind along with an eleven-year-old body."

 _'How's that possible?'_ Harry wondered, however, the girl seemed contented with the explanation and did not ask, so he felt slightly reassured that everything would be all right.

"Thank you so very much, Professors," Hermione said in clear excitement, before she turned to Harry. "Harry, I've read a lot about Hogwarts and its founders, and I think we can be very lucky to be able to study with them. Will you be my friend?"

"I'd like that," Harry replied, shyly, a small smile playing on his lips, although a small voice from the back of his mind told him, _'She'll notice soon that I'm just a freak.'_

Knowing that it had been evening in the future for the children, the founders led them to Helga's and Salazar's quarters, to which they had attached two rooms for them. Helga showed them to the bathroom and to their respective rooms, explaining that her sister was of the same age as them and was going to attend their first year together with Hermione and Harry.

"If I tell her about you, she'll come to live in the castle right away instead of waiting another week until school begins," she said, smiling, before she told the children to get ready for bed, promising that she'd come to tuck them in after a minute.

"I'll transfigure your clothes into comfortable sleepwear, all right dear?" she enquired in a soft voice, when she re-entered his room, causing Harry to nod, slightly apprehensively.

"Thank you," Harry whispered, tired but outright happy that Helga gently tucked him into bed in his new pyjamas, a kind gesture, which he had never experienced before.

"Good night, child, sleep well," Helga replied in a soft voice and nox-ed the light, before she quietly left the room, leaving the door ajar in case the boy would need her during the night.

 _'These pyjamas are strange,'_ Harry thought, _'but all their clothes were strange earlier. Maybe clothes are just different one thousand years into the past. Hermione was wearing normal clothes though,'_ he mused, before he drifted off to sleep, feeling more comfortable than he could remember having felt before.

HP

By the time Harry woke up, for once just by himself instead of by Petunia's shouting that he should get up and make breakfast, it was already bright outside, and he realised in disbelief how gorgeous the room was that he was staying in. One wall was completely covered by a huge window, which allowed the view onto the grounds, a forest and even a lake. It was beautiful, and Harry instinctively let out a happy giggle upon noticing an enormous animal playing and splashing around in the sunshine.

Suddenly, Harry heard a knock at the half-way open door, and Helga entered the room.

"Good morning, Harry," she said as friendly as she had spoken to him in the evening. "Breakfast is going to commence soon. I suggest that you wash up and come out into the living room, so that we can go to the Great Hall together. Hermione is already waiting for you."

"Good morning, Professor. I'll hurry and make breakfast," Harry replied in a small voice, causing Helga to gasp.

"First of all, when no students are around, you may call me Helga," she said, gently. "Secondly, you're not going to make breakfast. Our house-elves are doing all the housework for us."

Harry stared at the kind lady in shock. "But how can I earn my keep?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Oh dear, who in the world told you such a thing?" Helga enquired, seemingly angered.

"My relatives," Harry whispered. "They told me I'd cost a fortune, and if they weren't so kind and took me in, nobody else would want me, because I'm just a good for nothing freak and an ungrateful brat." He didn't know why he was telling this to the kind woman, however, the words came out of his mouth almost automatically, just because she was so nice to him and he felt so safe in her presence, instinctively knowing that she wouldn't hurt him.

"Harry," Helga replied in a suddenly much sterner voice. "Let me tell you one thing. What your relatives told you is absolute rubbish. You're neither a freak nor any of the other names they called you. You're a very nice boy. As we told you last night, we're your many times great grandparents, even if we're not much older in this time than you are, and I'm very happy to have you here."

Harry smiled, happily, and slowly scrambled out of bed, not wanting to make his nice great grandmother wait. His smile intensified, when Helga pointed her wand at him and changed his pyjamas into old-fashioned clothes like the adults were wearing them in the evening.

Uttering a quick "Thank you," Harry dashed out of the room and into the bathroom, of which he emerged a few minutes later, happy and eager to explore his new home, great grandparents and friends.

HP

Hermione was sitting on the sofa engrossed in her book, which she let sink immediately upon seeing Harry enter the room.

"Good morning, Harry," she said, friendly, smiling at him. "I'm so excited to be here, I still can't believe it, and I'm happy that you're here with me."

"Me too," Harry replied, feeling very much reassured to have been told someone was happy that he was here for the second time on this morning. He shyly returned the smile, noticing that the girl had chocolate brown eyes that matched her bushy hair. _'She looks nice,'_ he thought, happily.

HP

An instant later, the children followed Helga out of the founders' quarters and down a large staircase into what Helga explained to be the entrance hall. Harry still admired the enormous entrance doors, when Helga opened a smaller door opposite of the entrance and motioned the children to come on.

"This must be the Great Hall, Harry," Hermione explained to him. "Rowena has charmed the roof to look like the sky, so if it snows, for example, it'll look as if it snowed in the hall, but the snow will never reach the floor."

"Exactly dear," Rowena commended the girl, before she greeted them both and ushered them into two empty seats.

As soon as everyone was seated, breakfast popped up on the table, causing Harry's eyes to widen at the amount and choice of food.

Apparently noticing that he was not used to eat at the table with others, Helga, who was sitting on his right side, while Hermione was sitting left of him, placed a little of everything onto his plate, encouraging him to eat.

HP

After breakfast, the founders took turns showing them the castle, beginning with the library, the astronomy tower, the Potions classroom with all kinds of interesting looking ingredients and finally the headmaster's office, before the headmaster took the children out onto the grounds for a small unicorn riding trip.

In Godric's office, Harry and Hermione met the headmaster's familiar, Fawkes. Harry could only stare at the beautiful phoenix in clear admiration that turned into horror, when the bird began to trill.

#New nestlings already? Oh no, I had so much hoped for some more egg turns of peace and quiet.#

"We will be quiet," Harry promised the bird in a small voice, causing the headmaster to stare at him with apparent pleasure.

"Do you understand Fawkes?" he enquired, friendly.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, shyly, glancing at Hermione.

"That means that you're going to be a phoenix Animagus," Godric told him, before he explained what an Animagus was and that Fawkes had a very bad mouth. "So you better don't listen to him when he says anything that is not nice."

Harry smiled, feeling very enthusiastic at the idea of changing into such a beautiful bird.

"Will you teach us the Animagus transformation, sir?" Hermione asked, eagerly.

"Of course," Godric replied, grinning. "We've already made a study plan for the two of you, which we're going to explain after lunch. For now, let's go unicorn riding."

HP

Just when they left the castle, stepping through the large entrance doors, a girl came running towards the castle, stopping right in front of them.

"Hello, I'm Ceridwen, Helga's sister. I've already heard that you're coming and couldn't wait to meet you," she blurted out in a fast speed. "Let's be friends; we're going to have so much fun."

"Hello Ceridwen," Hermione replied, returning the other girl's smile.

"Hello Ceridwen," Harry echoed, immediately liking the girl.

"Are you going unicorn riding?" Ceridwen asked Godric and immediately decided to join her new friends.

HP

Godric assigned each of them a unicorn, and he and Ceridwen patiently taught them how to make the unicorn acquainted to them, so that it would allow them to ride on it.

Harry's unicorn was called Moonlight, and Harry felt slightly anxious on the one hand, but incredulously happy on the other hand, when she allowed him to sit on her back after an hour of petting her and talking to her in a soft voice.

HP

After lunch, the teachers explained that once school commenced, they would have subjects like Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Healing, Defence, Sword fighting, Runes, Arithmancy, Latin and a few other subjects. Besides classes, however, the four founders wanted to teach them other topics, which were not taught in class but might be useful for them in the future. Among these was the knowledge about Hogwarts and her secrets, the Animagus transformation, Occlumency, wandless magic, invisibility charms, Apparition in and outside of Hogwarts as well as other special charms and defence spells that the founders deemed necessary on the basis of Rowena's visions of the future. In addition, Godric would teach Harry the charming of a Portkey including time travel Portkeys.

"No one else can make time travel Portkeys," Godric informed Harry, glancing at Hermione and Ceridwen. "It's a special trait of the Gryffindor line, and I believe that it might be better to keep it between you and me. We can't have our children and grandchildren change the future over and over," he added, smirking.

 _'I'm going to learn so many things, and I can do as well as I can, I don't have to do worse than Dudley,'_ Harry thought, happily, while Ceridwen discussed with the founders that she was going to study together with her two new friends.

HP

"Since you both don't have wands," Godric told them, when Harry and Hermione obediently remained in his office after everyone else had left, "we need to make wands for you."

"Excuse me, sir, make them?" Hermione asked, incredulously. "In the future, I bought my wand at the wand maker."

"We could do that," Godric relented, "however, your wands will be much more powerful and fitting for you if we make them ourselves. I suggest that we ask Fawkes if he's willing to give one feather for each of your wands as the main ingredient. For wood, we can use lichens from Hogwarts' top roof, and we shall add one drop of Harry's blood as the heir of Hogwarts for each wand. This will make two incredibly strong wands for the two of you."

"Lichens?" Hermione asked, glancing at Harry. "How are we going to get these, and are they what I think they are?"

Godric grinned. "That may be, however, they're magical lichens, and since they grow on the roof of Hogwarts, and already have for ten years since we founded her, they possess very strong magic, and we can use them for a wand instead of some kind of tree. In fact," he admitted, "my wand has the same ingredients, except for Harry's blood of course," and it's much more powerful than any other wand of my colleagues or friends."

To the children's surprise and excitement, Godric led them back to Helga's and Salazar's rooms and straight to a life size portrait of Helga's parents, which swung back, as soon as Godric uttered, "Roof." Behind the now open door was a narrow staircase, and Harry just began to wonder how many steps it would take to get to the roof, when they stepped out into a beautiful herb garden.

"This is Salazar's garden for potions ingredients," Godric explained, before he led the children to one part of the roof, where they could harvest the best lichens.

"This is absolutely amazing," Hermione blurted out, pointing out how small the lake and Hogsmeade looked from the top roof.

Harry could only full heartedly agree, and happily nodded when Godric motioned them to follow him into the sword making room to make their wands.

It took Harry and Hermione the rest of the day to make their wands with Godric's proficient help, however, it was worth the effort. When Harry took his wand into his right hand, instructed by Godric to test it to know if they had to magically adjust the length, warmth spread through his whole body, and he felt incredibly happy.

"This is just amazing," he blurted out in surprise.

"Let me try," Hermione said and reached for her wand. "Oh my, this feels very different from the wand that we bought in the future, even if that wand was said to have chosen me. This one here warms me, and it just feels strong and reassuring," she added, casting Harry a broad smile.

"Usually, it's said that the wand chooses his wizard or witch," Godric supplied, smirking. "However, a wand specifically made for someone under consideration of the most fitting ingredients is much better, and with the combination of Fawkes' feather, Hogwarts' lichens and Harry's blood, your wands are extremely powerful. Normally, people don't make their own wands though."

HP

The following day was Harry's birthday. Still absolutely in awe about his wand, Harry completely forgot about it and was stunned, when they reached the Great Hall in the morning noticing that it was beautifully decorated and that parts of it had been turned into what looked like a huge playground with trees, holes filled with water and many other attractions.

"Excuse me, Helga, what's this meant to be?" Hermione immediately asked, causing Helga to grin.

"This is a broom playground for the three of you," the founder replied, enthusiastically. "You'll have to practise some, but it's going to be great fun to try flying through all the obstacles on brooms."

Before Harry even realised why parts of the Great Hall had been transformed into the playground, Ceridwen pulled him into a bear's hug, shouting, "Happy Birthday, Harry."

 _'My birthday? Today?'_ Harry thought in confusion, before Hermione followed her friend's example.

After a quick breakfast, during which everyone congratulated Harry, the three children were handed brooms and allowed to play on the playground and do as they pleased for the whole morning. Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself, knowing that he had never had so much fun before in his life. The experience was only topped in the afternoon, when the children were called to the table to eat his birthday cake in the form of Hogwarts and a whole lot of presents popped up in front of Harry.

"But freaks don't have birthdays let alone presents," he thought, not realising that he voiced his thoughts.

However, Hermione and Helga, who were sitting on each side of him, had heard his muttering.

"Harry, you're neither a freak, and of course we give you presents, because we love you and want you to be happy," she reassured him in a small voice, causing Hermione to nod, eagerly.

 _'This was the best birthday ever,'_ Harry thought late in the evening, when Helga had tucked him into bed like she used to do every evening. _'Oh well, it was my first.'_

He happily glanced at the pile of books, which he had received for his birthday, before he drifted off to sleep with a small smile playing on his lips.

HP

During the remaining four weeks of summer holidays, the founders took turns teaching the three children during the mornings, while they were free to do as they wanted during the afternoons.

While Hermione was very interested in Charms and spent most of the afternoons with Rowena, Ceridwen helped her sister in the hospital room to prepare for the new school year, and Harry assisted Salazar in the Potions lab.

To his relief, Salazar taught him as patiently as the other founders did, in spite of his often grumpy behaviour, and Harry thoroughly enjoyed himself. Salazar had many potions to brew for the upcoming school year, and by the end of the holidays, Harry was able to flawlessly prepare the ingredients for the most common potions.

When Salazar told his colleagues that Harry was doing his job adequately, the other founders knew that it meant Harry was very much adept at Potions and told the boy as much.

Occlumency or the Animagus transformation was not as easy for the children though, and by the end of the holidays, they still had not succeeded changing as much as a finger into feathers or paws let alone a complete hand, and Harry slowly became frustrated when it did not take Salazar more than a second to get into his mind and view memories of his stay with the Dursleys.

"Don't worry, children," Godric told them on the last day of the holidays. "During the school year, we'll only teach you during the weekends, and we'll begin with easy tasks, leaving difficult ones like Occlumency, Sword fighting or the Animagus transformation for a later time. I also wish to teach you making your own swords, however, your magic should be more developed than it is at this stage."

HP

Harry felt incredibly happy. Never before had anyone bothered teaching him anything, for the first time in his life he had friends, and the four founders soon became his own family. As much as Harry loved to learn so many new things, he thoroughly enjoyed himself being together with Hermione and Ceridwen. The three children spent all of their free time together, either roaming the castle or sitting in Helga's and Salazar's quarters, where all adults used to spend their free evenings.

HP

"I hope you're going to be sorted together with me," Ceridwen said one evening. "Where do you think Sopho will sort you?"

"You're probably going to be in Hufflepuff, won't you?" Hermione asked, pensively.

"I think so," Ceridwen replied, shrugging. "I don't know if you can talk Sopho into sorting us together."

"Well, if they call us in alphabetic order, I'm going to be the first anyway, so the two of you will have to try convincing the Hat," Hermione said, smirking.

"We'll try," Harry promised, thinking, _'Oh no, I wouldn't want to be without them. I don't know anyone else, and they're the first friends I ever had.'_

 _tbc..._


	2. Chapter 2

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

Together with Hermione and Ceridwen, Harry observed in awe how the students arrived on the grounds, taken to Hogwarts by their parents per Apparition or Portkey. After Godric greeted everyone on the grounds and invited the older students and the parents into the Great Hall, Rowena called the first years over.

"You're now going to be sorted into your house at Hogwarts," she explained to the new first years. "There are four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw, and your house will be your family while you're at Hogwarts. Now please follow me, so that Sopho, our Sorting Hat, can do his work."

Two students were sorted into Hufflepuff and Slytherin, before Rowena called, "Granger, Hermione."

Casting a seemingly nervous glance at Harry, Hermione rushed forwards to where Rowena was waiting for her with the Hat in her hands.

An instant later, the Hat shouted into the hall, "Ravenclaw."

Hearing Ceridwen let out a deep sigh, Harry inwardly groaned, and his discomfort only intensified when Ceridwen was sorted into Hufflepuff just a minute later. It seemed to take ages, during which Harry worried if Sopho would perhaps know that he was a freak and would refuse to sort him, before Rowena finally called his name, and Harry stumbled forward in relief. _'Thank Merlin the Hat is going to sort me,'_ he thought, casting Rowena an uncertain smile, before she placed the Hat onto his head.

'Oh no, what am I going to do with you?' he suddenly heard a faint voice. 'You'd fit into all houses.'

'Oh please, together with my friends,' Harry feverishly thought, unconsciously flinching upon realising that the Hat had heard his response.

'Very well, for once I shall do you the favour,' he replied, before he shouted into the hall, "Ravenclaw."

Harry received as much applause as everyone else, while he walked through the hall to the Ravenclaw table, where he happily slipped into the empty seat next to Hermione.

 _'Thank Merlin at least we're together,'_ he thought, absentmindedly following the rest of the sorting.

"Thank God you managed to get here, too," Hermione suddenly whispered. "At least we're going to have classes together with Ceridwen."

"Yes," Harry whispered back, feeling very grateful towards the Sorting Hat. With mixed feelings, he realised that the other first years began to introduce themselves, causing him to worry what to say when it became his turn. Finally, he just said, "I'm Harry, I grew up with my relatives, and I've only known that I'm a wizard for five weeks." From the corner of his eyes, he saw that Hermione nodded her head, comfortingly.

HP

After dinner, Rowena led the first years towards her house and informed them that the password to Ravenclaw was 'Welcome home'. Arriving in the common room, she quickly explained a few rules, before she told them that the first years were supposed to go to bed right away.

Harry bade Hermione good night and followed his classmates into the dormitory, which he shared with two other boys, Alvin and Melville. _'They both seem nice,'_ Harry thought, when he changed into his nightwear, feeling grateful towards the founders that they had equipped him with proper clothes of the time so that he wouldn't have to stand out from his classmates. He tiredly let himself sink into bed, realising with excitement that he could see the stars through the large window and could hear the Giant Squid play in the moonshine.

 _'I really love being at Hogwarts,'_ he thought, feeling happier than he had felt ever before in his life. _'I wonder how long Hermione and I are going to stay here, before they'll send us back to the future.'_ With that, he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of black Sorting Hats that were throwing plates with the crests of the four houses at students.

HP

If Harry had been just a little bit sad that their private classes ended in favour of the first Hogwarts class, he realised soon that their normal classes, even if not as difficult as their private lessons, were equally interesting. Their classmates were all very nice, and if anyone noticed that Hermione and Harry were acting strangely in comparison to everyone else, they did not voice their observations.

Harry and Hermione decided to spend the time between their last afternoon class and dinner in the Ravenclaw common room studying together with their classmates and the evenings in Helga's and Salazar's quarters to study together with Ceridwen or talk with her and the founders.

HP

At the beginning of the Christmas holidays, all students except for Harry, Hermione and Ceridwen travelled home, and Ceridwen informed her friends with excitement that her parents were going to spend Christmas at Hogwarts like the parents of the other founders.

"Oh I can't wait to meet your and the other teachers' parents," Hermione blurted out, smiling happily.

It was later the same evening, when everyone sat together for dinner, that Godric asked the two time travellers, "Do you regret that I fetched you here to our time?"

"Not at all," Hermione was the first to reply. "We love being here, don't we, Harry?"

"Absolutely," Harry agreed. "Everyone is so very nice here."

"That's true," Hermione concurred. "I never had any friends before coming here, and now I have two really good friends, plus our classmates are all very friendly, too, and classes are extremely interesting. I don't think they can be better in our own time."

"Oh well, you'll see whenever you decide to return," Godric replied, grinning.

"At least the field of study is much wider here," Hermione insisted, "and Harry and I have discussed it the other day and decided that we'd like to stay here in the past until after our OWLs, maybe even until the NEWTs." Ignoring the adults' collective gasp, she explained, "We'd just like to take the opportunity of learning so much things that are surely going to be different in the future, and since Salazar said he could de-age us back to eleven, it doesn't really matter, provided that you don't mind having us here."

"Of course not," Godric reassured her, "otherwise, we wouldn't have brought you here in the first place."

Harry smiled broadly. "Thank you so much for having us here. I've never been so happy before."

"You're so very welcome, dears," Helga said in a soft voice, making Harry think, 'She's the nicest of all.'

"Now are you feeling up to telling us how you celebrate Christmas in the future?" Helga's and Ceridwen's mother, Heather Hufflepuff, asked with apparent interest, looking at the time travellers in clear expectation.

 _'I better not tell them that I was locked into my cupboard over the whole holidays after cooking all the meals for the Dursleys,'_ Harry thought, feeling very grateful towards Hermione, when his friend told the adults everything about Christmas trees, Christmas presents and going to church to celebrate.

"Harry?" Hermione finally asked. "What did you do for Christmas?"

Lured by his friend's encouraging look, Harry finally admitted what he had wanted to keep to himself, causing his best friend to stare at him in clear disgust.

"Your relatives are horrible," she blurted out, gently laying her arm around his back. "Do you know what, Harry? When they send us back to the future, you're going to come with me. You'll never have to return to your relatives' home."

"I'm sorry that I didn't know about your home life," Rowena spoke up, sounding remorseful, "otherwise, we'd have fetched you much earlier."

"It's all right," Harry replied in a small voice, feeling very much consoled by Hermione's offer.

HP

The following day was Christmas Eve, and adults and children had much fun decorating a large Christmas tree, which the house-elves had brought into the Great Hall on Godric's instruction.

"Ceridwen, how are we going to get Christmas presents for everyone?" Hermione suddenly asked.

Harry looked at Helga's younger sister in expectation, knowing that the girl always had a suggestion for everything.

"Ask Rowena to help you charm something," Ceridwen finally said, causing Hermione to smile in relief.

"That's a great idea," she agreed and dashed away to ask Rowena.

"Now Harry, are you coming with Daddy Salazar?" Salazar, who had apparently witnessed the children's conversation, suddenly spoke up.

"I'd like that sir," Harry replied and hurried out of the Great Hall after the potions master, who, to his surprise, did not head to his potions lab but strode in the direction of the forest.

"We shall pick up some berries, and then you can brew fruit drops for everyone," Salazar explained, smirking upon seeing Harry's delighted expression.

HP

It was not difficult for Harry to admit that this Christmas was the best that he had ever experienced, considering that it was his first. During the remaining days of the holidays, the founders kept Hermione and him very busy, as they insisted on continuing their private lessons on a daily basis.

"I don't know what I like more, our lessons with the professors or the first-year classes together with our classmates," Hermione spoke up on the last day of the holidays, glancing at Harry.

"Both have their merits," Harry replied, smiling. "I'm happy that we have both opportunities."

"Yes, that's right," Hermione agreed, seemingly satisfied.

Ceridwen, who usually was the one of the trio who spoke most, contented herself to listen and smile wisely at her friends' conversation.

"Hey, what are you smiling at?" Harry asked in suspicion, causing the girl to grin.

"Just wait for the summer holidays to come," Ceridwen replied and predicted, "When we've finished our first Hogwarts year, the teachers aren't going to be so lenient anymore. They're going to make us study much harder. You'll probably be happy when everyone comes back after the holidays."

HP

Before the three first years realised how fast the time passed, the school year was over, and it did not take Harry and Hermione long to realise how accurate Ceridwen's prediction had been.

The founders made them practise hard, and they noticed soon that they had less free time than during the school year. Even if they did not have lessons in the evenings, usually, all three of them were so exhausted that they headed to bed shortly after dinner.

After two months of intense training with the teachers, Harry and Hermione admitted to Ceridwen that they were looking forward to the other students' return. Ceridwen grinned, knowingly.

HP

On the last day of the holidays, Helga informed the children that they would not have classes but should enjoy one day of freedom.

 _'I could sleep some more,'_ Harry thought, wondering what Ceridwen was going to plan for them to do, when Salazar spoke up. She always had the strangest ideas for activities, which, however, in the end, usually turned out much to Hermione's and his pleasure.

"Instead, I'm going to introduce you to my familiar. She's living in my Chamber of Secrets."

Harry observed in surprise how Hermione visibly paled at the announcement.

"Excuse me sir, but in my book _'Hogwarts: A History'_ , it says that there's a monster living in the Chamber of Secrets and that it killed a student at Hogwarts fifty years before our time," she spoke up, wearing a horrified expression.

Salazar shook his head in obvious annoyance. "Amaterasu isn't a monster, she's a basilisk, the goddess of all basilisks. If someone looks into a basilisk's yellow eyes, the person will die instantly," he explained, only to continue, "however, every year, I cast a charm over the school that prevents people from being killed by looking at her. I suppose that no one renewed that charm, and that there was a Parselmouth who willingly opened one of the entrances to the chamber and let her out."

"Sir, will you please teach us the charm, so that we can cast it over the school on a yearly basis?" Harry spoke up, noticing that Hermione looked very thoughtful.

"I shall do that," Salazar promised, quirking an eyebrow in silent question.

"All right sir," Hermione replied, and the children followed Salazar to his private quarters.

By the time they returned to the castle's ground floor, all three of them were certain that Amaterasu was an absolute cutie, Salazar's secret potions lab had to top every other potions lab, even in the future, although they had never seen one yet, and that his personal library was the most intriguing.

The children immediately liked Amaterasu, and Harry, who was the only one except for Salazar able to communicate with the basilisk, promised to visit her and look after her once Hermione and he were back in the future.

The potions lab looked very futuristic, as it was kept within white stone walls instead of the usual darker Hogwarts walls, and it was equipped with a refreshment charm to keep all ingredients and potions fresh as well as a self-refilling charm for each of the ingredients shelves.

The library containing Salazar's own works was charmed to display all the books in Parselscript, in which Salazar had actually written them. However, it was equipped with a charm that made the books be displayed in any language if triggered by a certain charm.

On the way back to the Great Hall on time for dinner, Hermione begged the ancient potions master to teach them the charm, however, Salazar outright refused, stating that they had to pass at least their Potions OWL, preferably their NEWT, before he'd share that piece of information with them.

"Thank you for taking us down there, showing us the rooms and introducing us to Amaterasu," Harry spoke up in order to stop his best friend, who was clearly disappointed, from quarrelling with the founder about the library.

"Yes, it was very interesting," Ceridwen agreed, following by a thanks uttered by Hermione.

"I wonder if Godric will show us his secret place, too," Ceridwen added, pleasantly.

"He will, next year on the last day of the summer holidays," Salazar replied, smirking in obvious amusement.

 _'In a year's time,'_ Harry thought in annoyance, knowing from a glance in his best friend's face that Hermione was equally disappointed.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	3. Chapter 3

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

However, it should take more than a year, before the three children would be able to discover Godric's secrets, since on the last day of the holidays before their third Hogwarts year, Rowena decided to show them her project.

"Not even my colleagues are aware of it, so please keep the matter to yourselves," she instructed the children, before she led them to the seventh floor, very much to Harry's surprise, as he had never seen anyone using the upper floors of the castle apart from within the houses. Rowena stopped in front of an empty wall. "Behind this wall is the Room of Requirement," she informed the children and paced in front of the wall to show them how to activate the room, stating, "Rowena's secret room."

Finally, a dark wooden door appeared in the wall, and Rowena motioned the children to follow her.

"This room is just my favourite place," she explained, "however, you can wish for a different room, you just have to think of how you want it to be when you pace in front of the wall."

The room, which Rowena had chosen, was more like living quarters than just a single room. It contained of a corner that was equipped with comfortable looking sofas and a huge bookshelf, another corner, which appeared to be a dining corner, a corner that seemed empty on the first glance but was surrounded by what seemed to be a glass wall, and a swimming pool in the fourth corner. A door right next to the pool was closed, so they could not look behind it, but it was obvious that it had to lead to a bathroom.

"Amazing," Hermione breathed, before she asked, curiously, "Excuse me, Professor, but what's the empty room for?"

Rowena smirked. "That's a training room, not only for sword fighting and such but also for me to try new charms without endangering anyone or anything. In fact, I was planning to use the room today to have you practise a very difficult spell, which is a combination between a charm and a spell." Seeing the children hang on her lips, she explained, "It's the Gladius Memoria Maxima spell."

"The Gladius Memoria Maxima spell?" Hermione repeated, incredulously. "I've never heard of anything like that."

Rowena smirked. "Of course not," she replied, rolling her eyes, "because I only invented it about a year ago and didn't teach it anyone but my husband yet."

"What exactly does this spell do?" Harry enquired.

"Do you know what a Pensieve is?" Rowena returned a question and, seeing the children nod, informed them, "Using this spell, which consists of half a wandless spell and half a charm, you can make memories coming out of the tip of your wand instead of placing them into a Pensieve. Since Pensieves are very rare and expensive and Godric is the only person I know who owns one, I believe that this charm spell is extremely convenient."

The professor motioned the students to take a seat on the comfortable looking sofa in the first corner of the room, before she cast the charm spell to show the children the effects.

Harry, Hermione and Ceridwen observed in surprise how a scene emerged from the tip of Rowena's wand.

 ** _Beginning of memory_**

The memory played in the headmaster's office. They could recognise the office, and even Fawkes was there, however, the room looked slightly different. Two people were occupying the room, one of them being Harry and the other a very old wizard with a long, white beard.

"Harry, my boy, I couldn't tell you before," the old man apologized, popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

"You SHOULD have told me before, you manipulating old coot! You keeping secrets from me cost my godfather his life!" Harry shouted back, before he began trashing most of the glass devices that occupied the shelves in the professor's office.

After destroying everything in his reach, Harry finally dashed from the office, and the memory faded.

 _End of memory_

"What was that?" Hermione was the first to speak, incredulously. "Was that really our Harry?"

Rowena let out a long sigh. "Yes, it actually was Harry, as unbelievable as it is, knowing him as a polite, loving boy. However, in my visions, your future is horrible. It's not for a reason that we brought you here in order to prepare you for everything. After all I know from my visions, I believe that Harry, whatever he did in his memory, was fully right to do so."

In spite of Rowena's kind words, Harry felt horrified at the scene that he had just viewed. "Excuse me, Rowena, but who was the old wizard?" he asked in a soft voice.

"That was Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster during your time at Hogwarts in the future," Rowena replied, sighing again. "In fact, my colleagues and I believe that the deputy headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, would make a much better head of Hogwarts, however, we'll further discuss the matter before you're going to return to the future."

Harry and Hermione nodded, feeling very much relieved at the professor's promise to support and advise them before sending them back.

"Now are you feeling up to practising the charm spell?" Rowena asked in a lighter voice, causing all the children to nod, eagerly.

"I'd love to learn it," Hermione blurted out, turning to Harry. "If we both go back to my parents, we need to show them some memories about our time here and who you are, so we really must be able to cast this charm spell by then."

"We will," Harry replied, reassuringly, smiling at his best friend.

However, the charm spell was very difficult, as it had to be cast silently and wandlessly in order to properly work. At the same time, they had to keep the memory, which they wanted to be displayed, at the front of their minds, and it afforded a lot of magic to cast the charm spell. They realised soon that they wouldn't be able to flawlessly cast it after just a few hours of practice.

"We can come back here sometime during the weekend," Rowena promised, before she asked the children to not practise anywhere else, as such a powerful spell could do much harm to others if cast incorrectly. "Now shall we go for a swim?" she asked in a lighter voice, causing the children to squeal in delight.

HP

It took Harry, Hermione and Ceridwen almost until Christmas, before they were finally able to properly cast Rowena's secret charm spell, and Harry knew that Hermione was very relieved by the fact, knowing that it was their only option to make their parents believe what they needed them to believe upon their return to the future.

Just a few days later, Harry managed the complete Animagus transformation into a wind phoenix. Most of his feathers were green, with just a couple of white and orange back feathers. He flapped his wings in absolute excitement.

"Ahh, I want to be able to transform, too," Hermione blurted out and intensified her own attempts, spending every free minute practising her own transformation into a water phoenix.

"Your forms are very beautiful," Ceridwen said in clear amazement, when Hermione finally transformed just a week after her best friend.

"Just as amazing as your form," Harry replied, smiling. Ceridwen had already been able to change into her form of a white dove for a few weeks.

"Yeah, but my form's much easier to achieve, because it's not a magical form," Ceridwen said, dismissively.

"I wonder if it would be possible to have a second Animagus form," Harry thought aloud, glancing at Hermione.

"That would be even cooler," Hermione agreed, after changing back into her human form. "What kind of animal were you thinking of?"

"A griffin," Harry informed her. "Let's go and show Godric our forms and ask him," he suggested, causing his friends to eagerly follow him to the headmaster's office.

HP

The headmaster only laughed upon hearing their question, before he transformed into his fire phoenix form, followed by a griffin and finally a magical lynx.

"Just practise," he advised the clearly amazed children. "Nevertheless, we're going to end our Animagus class now, as you're able to just practise for yourselves, provided that at least two of you are together. Never practise just on your own."

"Sir," Hermione spoke up with clear excitement, "what are we going to learn instead?"

Godric looked at the eager girl, as he replied, "I shall teach you how to make yourselves completely invisible. As soon as you'll be able to achieve this, we'll try to apparate within and out of Hogwarts."

Hermione returned the founder's look, when she protested, "But Professor, in Hogwarts: A History, it says that it's not possible to apparate in and out of Hogwarts, let alone within the castle."

Godric nodded. "Yes, that's true," he admitted, smirking. "Maybe you won't be able to apparate at this time. In fact, only the founders and their close families are able to achieve this. In the future, when you're going to belong to Harry's family, you'll surely be able to succeed, however, right now it might be impossible. I'm sorry, Hermione."

"Excuse me sir, but how do you know that I'm going to belong to Harry's family in the future?" Hermione enquired, fighting back her tears. "From Rowena's visions?"

Ceridwen chuckled. "Not only from the visions, but also from watching the two of you," she then supplied, smiling broadly. "You're probably the only two people at Hogwarts who haven't noticed yet that you belong to each other."

Harry gave Hermione a shy look and, before even pondering what to do, he instinctively reached out and gently wiped an errand tear from her cheek. _'I couldn't imagine having anyone else as my girlfriend,'_ he suddenly thought. However, he did not know how to speak about such a thing and dismissed the matter for the time being.

"I'd like that," Hermione replied to Ceridwen, before she smiled at Harry, uttering, "Thank you, Harry."

Ceridwen cast her two friends a knowing look, before she motioned them to come unicorn riding with her.

HP

On the last day of the summer holidays between their third and fourth year, it was still not Godric to reveal his secret to them. Instead, Helga informed them that she was going to show them something that might come handy at some stage in the future.

 _'Another chamber of secrets?'_ Harry wondered, when they followed the healer into her and Salazar's quarters, where they stopped in front of a portrait of Salazar's mother.

Harry and Hermione watched in excitement how the painting swung back, revealing a door, while Ceridwen observed them in clear amusement, apparently already aware of her sister's secret.

Helga swiftly opened the door, motioning them to come. When Harry stepped through, he realised in surprise that they found themselves outside. However, this was not the Hogwarts grounds. Instead, they were standing right in front of a stone wall, which had just about the height to accommodate the door that they had just used.

"Where are we?" Hermione was, as usual, the first to voice the question.

"In Hogsmeade," Ceridwen blurted out, pleasantly, pointing out that they were standing just outside the Hogwarts wards, beside her parents' house.

"This area still belongs to Hogwarts, even if it's outside the grounds, which is to assure that you'll still have the possibility of getting in and out of Hogwarts quickly in the future, even if you should be able to apparate by then. Sometimes, it's easier to just step through the door, especially if you have people, familiars or luggage with you, depending on what it is."

"We understand," Hermione said, warmly. "Thank you so much for letting us in on the secret."

Harry merely nodded. Even if they had already studied at Hogwarts for three years, he sometimes was still amazed at what magic could do.

HP

It was only a year later that Godric let the children in on his own secret. He led the soon-to-be fifth-years to two oak trees in the first row of trees of the Forbidden forest, right next to the lake. The branches of the two trees were bent towards each other as if to show a gate.

"This is a gate," Godric informed them, smirking, "and it leads straight to Gryffindor Manor."

"Gryffindor Manor?" Ceridwen asked in apparent surprise. "I didn't know that you had a manor."

"Rowena and I built it right after finishing constructing Hogwarts," Godric explained, grinning, as he led them through the gate.

As soon as they had passed the two oak trees, of which Godric told them that Rowena had charmed them to remain the way there were for an eternity, the forest vanished in front of their eyes and was replaced by a carpet of white sand that was stretched out along the shore of the sea, and to their right side, they could see the manor. It was made of stone like Hogwarts, and the house was surrounded by flowers. A large stone wall surrounded the area, which seemed to not stop in front of the sea but somehow melt into it.

"Beautiful," Hermione breathed, letting her eyes wander around in clear amazement.

"Absolutely," Harry and Ceridwen agreed, simultaneously.

The three children spent the whole day on the beach. They even had a picnic on the beach, which house-elf Dredi served for them. Hermione taught Ceridwen and Harry how to swim, and they enjoyed themselves so much that they begged Godric to allow them to stay a little longer, when the founder wanted to return to Hogwarts.

"You may stay overnight if you wish," Godric finally relented and asked Dredi to prepare rooms for the girls and for Harry and keep an eye on them until the morning.

"Of course Master Godric," Dredi promised, bowing deeply, before she motioned the friends to follow her, so that she could show them their rooms.

"Beautiful," Harry thought what Hermione spoke aloud upon getting a sight at their rooms. Both rooms were equipped with large windows that allowed the view onto the sea. _'It just seems infinite, absolutely gorgeous,'_ Harry thought in amazement.

Nevertheless, the three fifteen-year-olds returned to the beach after a glimpse at their rooms and did not even want to return inside when it became dark.

To Harry's and Hermione's surprise, Ceridwen was the first to announce that she was going to turn in for the night. "Enjoy some more of this romantic evening," she whispered to Harry, smiling mischievously.

 _'It's really romantic here,'_ Harry thought, wondering if he might dare asking Hermione to become his girlfriend. Observing Ceridwen return to the house, the idea _'She just only left us for this purpose'_ crossed his mind, and he hesitantly made up his mind.

"Hermione," he spoke up in a small voice, "would you perhaps like to become my girlfriend?"

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	4. Chapter 4

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

Hermione remained quiet for a few seconds, causing Harry to turn his eyes to look at her, anxiously - only to realise that she was smiling, happily.

"Yes Harry, I'd love to be your girlfriend," she finally replied.

 _'Yes!'_ Harry thought, suddenly feeling over the moon with joy. He leaned over and carefully kissed his best friend turned girlfriend, finally relaxing when he felt her reply to the kiss.

HP

As soon as Harry was able to meet with Godric in private, which was not easy at the beginning of the school year, he asked the founder how he could get or better yet make a ring for Hermione.

"Disturb my class, so I can give you detention in the evening," Godric replied, smirking. "I'll help you make it."

 _'Oh no,'_ Harry thought, feeling very uncomfortable at the idea of disturbing a class. There were always students among his classmates, indifferent of their house, who occasionally disturbed classes, however, Harry had never done such a thing, and neither had Hermione or Ceridwen. He spent the rest of the day pondering how in the world he could disturb the Transfiguration class, unaware that Hermione and Ceridwen kept casting him worried looks.

By the time the Transfiguration class commenced first thing in the morning, Harry had made up his mind. He already knew that they were going to practise the transformation of objects into life objects, and when Godric handed out wooden cats and instructed them to transfigure them into life cats and stun them immediately, Harry pointed his wand at the cat in front of him and efficiently transfigured it into thirty different kittens that were very much alive and jumped from his desk before he could do as much as stun one of them.

"Potter," Godric growled, seemingly angered, as he waved his wand around the class banishing all the cats that were running around, uncontrollably. "Detention with me tonight," the headmaster added in the same, grumpy voice.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, relieved that he had managed the first stunt of his life.

"How did you manage to make it thirty cats instead of one?" Hermione whispered in apparent disbelief.

Harry merely shrugged, giving his girlfriend the impression as if he just hadn't paid attention.

HP

Feigning an expression of pure annoyance, Harry parted from Hermione and Ceridwen after dinner and headed to the headmaster's office.

"Nice transfiguration," Godric told him, chuckling, before he motioned the boy to the sword making classroom, stating that it contained everything that Harry would need to make a ring. "I suggest that we make friendship rings for both of you and equip them with all kind of charms," he said, casually, as he began to gather the necessary ingredients.

Harry immediately agreed and decided to make the rings with a gold coating, involving two small diamonds, a brown one matching the colour of Hermione's eyes and a green one that matched his own. When Godric suggested to transfigure the brown diamond into a griffin and the green one into a phoenix to match their Animagus forms, Harry was thrilled.

By the time he returned to Helga's and Salazar's quarters thirty minutes before curfew, Godric had added multiple protection charms as well as a telepathic charm to the rings.

 _'I hope Hermione is still here,'_ Harry thought, as he entered the living room, grinning mischievously upon seeing the girls studying.

"You're late, Harry," Hermione was the first to notice him. "It's almost time to return to Ravenclaw. Did your detention last so long? What did Godric make you do?" she asked, looking at him in apparent concern.

Harry grinned. "I didn't have detention," he replied, reaching for something in his robe pocket. "In fact, Godric helped me make something, which I wanted to give you," he added, as he pulled out the two rings and leaned over Hermione to slide the smaller one over her finger.

His girlfriend let out a huge gasp. "You made that?" she asked, incredulously. "It's absolutely beautiful."

"Gorgeous," Ceridwen added, looking at the two rings in awe.

'Can you hear me?' Harry thought to Hermione, whose eyes widened upon hearing his telepathic question.

'Yes,' she thought back, 'is that part of the ring?'

"Yes," Harry replied, aloud to not exclude Ceridwen from their conversation, "these are friendship rings, and they're equipped with several charms, among them the telepathic charm. I hope you like it," he added, smiling.

"I love it," Hermione replied and leaned over to pull Harry into a long kiss.

"Congratulations to both of you," Helga spoke up in a soft voice, causing Harry to turn around in shock. He had not even noticed that Helga and Salazar were quietly sitting in a corner of the room reading books.

"Thank you," Hermione and Harry replied, exchanging a look that made Ceridwen roll her eyes.

"Oh well, I'm going to return to the common room," she said, grinning as she headed for the door. "Don't be late, love birds."

After a glance at her wrist watch, Hermione jumped from her seat. "She's right, Harry, we need to go." She hurriedly gathered her books, bade the professors good night and crossed the room, closely followed by a grinning Harry.

HP

Unfortunately, sword making was not as easy as it had been to make the friendship rings, and only few of the fifth-years were finished with their swords by the beginning of the OWL exams. Neither Harry nor his girlfriend were more than half-way done with the task. However, Harry consoled himself that they still had the summer holidays to work on it, before they would need their swords in their sixth year sword fighting class. The most difficult part was to decide on a pattern.

For Ceridwen it was an easy decision, as she wanted both her dove form as well as the Hufflepuff crest on her sword, however, Harry and Hermione just could not decide. On the one hand, they could just as well take one of their Animagus forms together with the Ravenclaw crest, however, on the other hand, they wanted all of their Animagus forms on the sword, and since they did not know into which house Sopho was going to sort them in the future, it was a tough decision.

"How about putting the complete Hogwarts crest onto the sword, maybe along with your phoenix forms?" Godric finally suggested, when Harry and Hermione continued working on their swords on the first day of the summer holidays.

"I'd like that," Harry replied, immediately, glancing at Hermione.

"That's a great idea," Hermione agreed, excitedly.

HP

A few days later, they were able to finish their swords. At least they thought they were finished, before Godric told them to bring their swords and join him on a small trip to London.

"Where are we going, sir?" Harry asked in surprise, glancing at Hermione, who returned a questioning look.

"We're going to see Brightfield at Gringotts," Godric replied and explained that Brightfield was a goblin at the magical bank in London, who was responsible for sword making. "The goblins make the best blades. They go far beyond our own capacities, so we're going to have him overwork your swords to make them as strong as possible," the headmaster continued, causing Harry and Hermione to nod in surprise. "Don't worry, he won't change anything to your personal touch, he'll only change the blade. Maybe you'll be better off in the future with a goblin-made blade. My own sword has been adjusted by Brightfield as well," Godric added, before he motioned them to hold on to the Portkey.

Brightfield was a very strict goblin, almost like Harry had always imagined goblins to be, since he first heard about them. However, he promised to add his own blades to Harry's and Hermione's swords and have them ready in a week's time.

Harry was almost disappointed hearing that he would only get his sword back the following week. Now that he had finally succeeded making it, he could not wait to commence practising together with Hermione and Ceridwen.

HP

However, he was not going to have much time missing his sword practice. Later the same evening, when the three friends were sitting in Helga's and Salazar's living room together with the four founders, Rowena addressed Harry in an unusually stern voice.

"Harry, as you're aware, I know much about the future due to my visions," she began to speak, before she explained about Horcruxes that Voldemort had made in an attempt to gain immortality.

Harry inwardly groaned, already knowing about the prophecy between himself and the evil wizard. However, the information was still going to become worse.

"We believe that he made another Horcrux when he gave you that scar," she informed him, "and seeing that you were connected to him in my visions, we assume that this Horcrux is buried behind your scar, thus allowing you to feel his emotions and look into his mind."

While Harry gave her a horrified look, Hermione stared at Harry in shock, and Ceridwen eyed both her friends with compassion, Godric continued to speak. "It took us until now to figure out a spell to extract and kill the Horcrux. The problem is, however, that we don't have a way to practise and experiment with the spell, so that we can't be certain what the consequences might be, even if we assume that there won't be any harm done."

Looking at Harry, Godric finally asked, "Do you want us to try extracting the Horcrux, Harry?"

"Yes please," Harry replied in a firm voice. "Are we going to do this here?"

"I'd prefer to have you in the hospital room in case you need my help afterwards," Helga spoke up and rose from her seat, motioning everyone to follow her.

With Hermione leaning onto his arm, Harry walked the few steps to the hospital room, completely in shock at the sudden revelation.

'Don't worry too much,' Hermione thought to him, 'Godric and Rowena know what they're doing.'

'I know,' Harry replied, however, could see from her expression that she was in no way as calm as her words pretended. Like in a trance, he obeyed when Helga instructed him to lie down in the first bed and faintly heard that she threw his friends out and mumbled something about sleep, before he succumbed to the sleeping spell that the healer cast at him as soon as he had climbed into bed.

HP

When Harry's mind turned back to consciousness, it was night. Only a few torches were lit on the walls of the hospital room, giving sparse light. Nevertheless, he could make out two figures, seemingly asleep in chairs next to his bed, while he could more feel than see someone lying next to him.

'Mione?' Harry thought to the first person who came into his mind, causing the girl to wake up with a jolt.

'Sorry Harry,' she thought back and struggled to sit up, while Harry gently pulled her down once more.

'Don't be my dear,' he thought back. 'I seem to be still alive. Did everything go well?'

'They told us it was horrible, but everything is out and all right now,' Hermione reassured him, making herself comfortable in his embrace at the same time.

'Thank Merlin they got out the Horcrux,' Harry replied, yawning.

'Yes, I'm so happy that you're all right,' Hermione agreed. 'I was so worried, they didn't even scold me for sitting on the edge of your bed. Maybe they didn't notice that I fell asleep here.'

'That's great, then let's just sleep some more,' Harry replied, thoroughly enjoying their body contact.

It was only hours later that they were about to be rudely awakened by Helga, who wanted to kick Hermione out of Harry's bed as soon as she spotted the girl.

"Ah Helga, leave them, look how cute they're together," Ceridwen's began to argue, and when Rowena agreed, knowing that the two friends had spent the whole night cuddling into each other, Helga grudgingly left them in peace.

HP

Even if the two teens had behaved during that night and done nothing that they weren't supposed to do and for that they weren't even ready yet, the night had made their relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend progress in a way that they became even more inseparable than before - if that was at all possible - and they proceeded to walk around the castle holding hands at every time but class times.

HP

It was only after they received the results from their OWLs in the middle of the summer holidays, most of which they had passed with the best grade possible, that Rowena asked the two friends if they intended to return to the future right away or only after the NEWTs.

Harry stared from Hermione to the professor in shock. Somehow, he was feeling so comfortable and well at Hogwarts that he had not even further thought about the matter apart from deciding to remain at least until after the OWLs together with Hermione.

"I'm sorry, I didn't even think about it," he spoke up, glancing at his girlfriend.

"If Harry doesn't mind, I'd like to stay here for two more years and properly finish Hogwarts in this time before beginning anew," she said in a small voice. 'It's not only about our studies,' she thought to Harry, eyeing him with an expression of which Harry did not know what to think. 'We're so close now and boyfriend and girlfriend, and somehow, I can't imagine commencing from zero again.'

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	5. Chapter 5

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

'We're not going to begin from zero,' Harry replied, soothingly caressing her cheek. 'Even if we're de-aged, we're still going to have our friendship rings, plus we can even make it more than just a girlfriend and boyfriend relationship if that's what you want. No one in the future needs to know except for ourselves.'

"Do you really mean that, Harry?" Hermione suddenly asked aloud, causing Ceridwen to frown.

"Ahhh, are you doing it again?" she asked, teasingly, complaining to Rowena, "These two sometimes use telepathy and only after having said so much that the rest of the conversation doesn't make sense continue aloud."

The friends could not help grinning at their best friend's feigned pout. However, neither of them was ready to speak about their earlier conversation yet.

HP

However, Harry realised soon that there was more than one reason to bond Hermione to himself before returning to the future.

During their sixth year, the founders continued instructing them in private during the weekends and the holidays, and since Harry and Hermione had mastered most tasks they had wanted to teach them like the Animagus transformation, the invisibility charm, the Gladius Memoria Maxima spell and Apparition at least outside of Hogwarts, they now mostly concentrated on magic that needed a close connection to Hogwarts in order to be performed properly like, for example, the Apparition within and through the Hogwarts boundaries, the addition of rooms, doors and shortcuts within the castle as well as the creation of time-based Portkeys.

On Christmas Eve, the founders even taught Harry to communicate with the castle by placing his hand against the wall.

"Hogwarts, I thank you very much for allowing Hermione and me to study within your walls and your help with many important tasks like Apparition and others," Harry told the castle, who replied in a soft voice.

"You're very welcome, Harry. I'm proud to be going to have you as my owner in the future."

"Thank you, Hogwarts," Harry said, blushing at the unexpected praise, before he added, hesitantly, "Would it be possible to provide Hermione with the same amount of assistance, so that she'll be able to do the same things?"

Hogwarts let out a sigh. "I'd love to do so, my boy," she informed him, "however, your young lady must be magically bonded to you, before I'll be able to help her. I'd love to assist, especially seeing that she seems destined to be the wife of my future owner, however, I'm not able to do anything without the magical bond."

"Thank you, Hogwarts, for telling me what I need to do," Harry replied, gratefully, before he, still not releasing his wand from the wall, knelt down in front of his girlfriend and asked in a soft yet firm voice, "Hermione will you become my wife?"

"Place your hand against my wall, young lady," Hogwarts instructed the girl in a soft voice.

Hermione complied, before she replied, "Yes Harry, I'd love to become your wife."

All of a sudden, they both felt a strong bout of magic push through their bodies and stared at each other in disbelief, when a golden glow engulfed both of them.

"I suddenly feel very happy," Hermione was the first to find words, instinctively knowing that Harry was equally delighted. "What happened?"

"That was Hogwarts," Godric supplied, smirking. "She efficiently bonded the two of you together, and seeing the colour of the glow, it's one of the strongest bonds I can imagine. Congratulations, Hermione and Harry."

"Thank you Hogwarts," Harry and Hermione spoke up, simultaneously, causing the castle to chuckle.

"You're very welcome dears," Hogwarts replied in a soft voice.

"Excuse me Godric," Hermione spoke up, taking her hand off the wall, "what exactly does this bond mean?"

Harry nodded, eagerly. 'Exactly.'

"It means that you're now considered husband and wife in the magical world," Godric replied, his voice laced with apparent amusement. "Since you're both sixteen, you're both considered adults, and thus it's a legitimate marriage bond."

"Sixteen?" Hermione asked in surprise. "In the future it was eighteen in the Muggle world and I think seventeen in the magical world. Oh well." Looking at Harry, she added, "We're so screwed if my parents get to know this, especially my father."

Harry calmingly laid his arm around her back. "Easy love," he said in a soothing voice, "we still have two years, before we're going to return to the future, and until then we can still consider if and when we tell them about the matter."

"That's true," Hermione agreed, contentedly leaning into his embrace.

Neither of them were able to imagine just how fast these eighteen months were going to pass.

Harry spent the rest of the Christmas holidays working on marriage rings for Hermione and himself under Godric's watchful eyes and with the founder's occasional help. Recalling that it was Hogwarts who had bonded them, he chose the four crests of the Hogwarts houses as design for the gold coated rings, which he then charmed with the strongest protection charms against evil spells and charms that he could come up with. Encouraged by Godric, he placed his left hand at the wall before casting a charm at the rings, so that Hogwarts could support him by her magic, making sure that the charms would last against anything that could be cast at them, even in the future.

At the same time, Hermione had lessons with Rowena, where she practised all the charms and spells for which she needed the assistance of Hogwarts. By the time school commenced again at the beginning of January, she was well caught up with her husband.

HP

By the middle of the summer holidays, the founders had taught the two time travellers everything that they deemed necessary for them to know in the future, and Harry and Hermione decided to spend their free time assisting the professors with their research. While Ceridwen spent her days helping Helga and learning from her, Hermione decided to assist Rowena with the invention of new charms, and Harry joined Salazar in the potions lab.

It was not that Harry was overly interested in the brewing of potions, interested yes, but not more than in charms, transfiguration or other fields of magic. However, according to Salazar, he was quite adept, and he knew that Salazar was an excellent teacher.

"I can well use an assistant," the potions master told him and informed him about his current research. "I've invented many potions already, but this one is tough, and it would be helpful to have another mind thinking of how to change it to become successful."

"All right sir," Harry replied with interest, "what exactly is it?"

"The wolvescure," Salazar informed him, sighing. "I want to cure the werewolves before they infest our students."

However, as the professor had already told Harry, the invention of the cure was not easy, and even if the two wizards spent every free minute sorting potions ingredients in their minds, it took them until two weeks before the NEWTs before they definitely knew that their latest concoction was a success.

HP

Somehow too soon for Harry's and Hermione's liking, their NEWTs passed and they finished their seventh Hogwarts year. However, knowing that they would only receive the results from their NEWTs in a few weeks' time, they decided to remain in the past until the end of the summer holidays.

"Why don't we ask Godric and Rowena if we may spend a few weeks at Gryffindor Manor?" Ceridwen suggested to her best friends, only to add, "Maybe Gawain can stay with us." On the day after the last day of school, the girl had become liaised with Gawain, who had been her good friend and housemate in Hufflepuff since their first Hogwarts year.

"Yeah, let's do that," Harry immediately agreed, giving Hermione a questioning look.

"Good idea," his wife said, nodding eagerly. "Provided that the professors don't need our assistance for some new research."

"I think both of you have done enough research for the time being," Ceridwen objected firmly. "Salazar can be lucky that he had Harry to help him develop the wolvescure, and Rowena is surely happy having your assistance for the improved memory vision charm. I think you need some break and some time to relax, especially considering that you're going to be de-aged back to eleven before you travel back to the future."

"Yes, that's true," Hermione added, pensively. "Harry, we have to plan in detail what to tell my parents, provided that you really decide to come with me instead of returning to the Dursleys."

"I won't leave you alone anymore," Harry replied, grinning, only to add, "and I'm definitely not going to return to that hellhole anymore."

"You really shouldn't, and considering that you're my husband now, I can't even allow you to go back there," Hermione agreed, before she leaned over and kissed him.

HP

Summer at Gryffindor Manor passed faster than any other summer before, at least in Harry's and Hermione's opinion. When they received the results of their NEWTs, they knew that they did not have any excuse to not return to the future as soon as possible.

Harry and Hermione spent a few more days at the manor, discussing in detail what to explain to Hermione's parents and which memories to show them, before they returned to Hogwarts, feeling very uncertain at the idea of becoming de-aged to eleven-year-olds very soon.

"The main point is that we're together," Harry reassured his wife, "and if you want, we can hide our wedding rings and perhaps even the friendship rings by magic, so that no one..."

"No," Hermione interrupted him, forcefully. "I want all the world to know that I belong to you, even if we'll only be eleven at that time. Remember, in the future, you're the boy who lived and famous, and many rich pureblood witches are going to drool over you. Believe me, I'd readily kill them," she added, reaching for her sword to emphasize her words.

"All right, then it might be safer to let them see the rings," Harry replied, chuckling.

HP

It was only in the morning of the last day of the summer holidays, a day that had always special to them because it was the day on which the founders had used to let them in on their secrets, that Harry and Hermione took the potion that de-aged them to eleven-year-olds.

"Are we still us?" Hermione immediately asked, after both of them had gulped down the lime green liquid, simultaneously.

"We're still us," Harry replied, smiling at his young wife. "Only our bodies are small, but our minds and emotions haven't changed. I still love you dear."

"Same here," Hermione agreed, smiling, happily.

The very young couple spent the next two hours saying good-bye to all the people who had meant the world to them during the last seven years, promising to come and visit every now and then. They pocketed a phial with vision memories from Rowena as well as a declaration from Godric that Harry was Hogwarts rightful owner from the first of September, 1991 onwards.

"You won't really need it, as the whole school will know about it anyway. In the worst case, Hogwarts knows about it and will see to it that everyone will know if the headmaster tries to hide the fact," Godric explained to the excited children.

Finally, they reached for the time-travel Portkey that Godric had made for them.

"Mione," Harry spoke up, urgently, holding up his hand to prevent Godric from uttering the activation password, "remember that we can apparate. If anything goes wrong, we'll just apparate to Gryffindor Manor."

"All right love," Hermione replied, just before they both felt a distinctive pull in their navels as the Portkey activated that was supposed to take them back one thousand years into the future and right into Hermione's bedroom.

 _'Her parents are so going to kill me'_ was Harry's last thought, before the world turned black around themselves.

HP

'Only over my dead body,' Hermione thought back, once the world slipped back into view, reaching for her husband's hand, before she pulled him with her out of her bedroom.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	6. Chapter 6

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

Harry hesitantly allowed Hermione to drag him downstairs and into the living room.

"Mum, Dad," she called out to her parents, who were sitting on the sofa seemingly engrossed in their books.

"Hermione!" Emma Granger was the first to notice Hermione and Harry. "Who is this young man?" she then queried in clear surprise.

Hermione pulled Harry over to where her parents were sitting, standing next to him.

"I have to tell you a lot," she then explained. "First of all, this is Harry, and he's my best friend."

Her parents exchanged a confused look.

"I'm sorry Hermione," her father spoke up, laying his book aside. "You have to explain a bit. You just went to bed a few minutes ago, only to return downstairs together with a friend, of whom we've never heard before?"

"I will explain," Hermione explained, calmly and pulled Harry over to the other sofa, where they sat next to each other.

Emma suddenly noticed the rings on Hermione's hands and stared at her daughter, wide-eyed.

"Okay, this sounds totally unbelievable, but I can proof everything, because I can show you my memories," Hermione continued, smiling when Harry reassuringly squeezed her hand. "When I went up to my room, there was a small parcel hovering in the air just in front of my bed, and when I reached for it, I was taken away from my room. It was a Portkey, a magical way of travel."

"Mione, why don't you just show them the scene?" Harry spoke up in a soft voice.

"All right," Hermione agreed and pulled her wand.

"You mustn't do magic at home," her father said, quickly. "Remember what Professor McGonagall told us."

"It's all right," Hermione contradicted, "because this is not the wand that we bought at Ollivanders. This one I made together with the professor who abducted me from here." With that, she made the memory of their first evening in the past emerge from the tip of her wand for everyone in the room to watch.

"They brought both of you one thousand years into the past and back here to exactly the same minute, from when they took you?" Dan asked, incredulously.

"You must have spent some years in the past, haven't you?" Emma added, pointing to the rings on Hermione's and Harry's hands. "Are these...?" she slowly trailed off, giving her eleven-year-old daughter a questioning look.

"Yes, we completely finished the seven Hogwarts years and married in the past," Hermione replied, smiling, before she enlarged the bag, which she was carrying in her pocket, to show her parents her OWLs and NEWTs certificates.

"You're eleven and already married?" Dan blurted out, seemingly horrified.

"No one is going to know about this," Hermione insisted, "and we're going to have a proper wedding ceremony when we'll both be adults again."

"I'm sorry for presenting you with a fait accompli, Mr. Granger..." Harry began to apologize, when Hermione interrupted him.

"... But we both wanted it and it was necessary for several reasons. Nevertheless, we're going to attend Hogwarts again from first year onwards, and we don't intend to tell anyone about our time in the past apart from the two of you."

Emma Granger rose from her seat, still seemingly shocked, however, composed, and held her hand out to Harry.

"Hello Harry, I'm Emma Granger, Hermione's mother. Welcome to our home."

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Granger," Harry replied, carefully lifting Emma's fingers to turn her hand to the back and placed a small kiss on the back of her hand. "I'm very happy to finally get to know you and your husband."

"I'm Dan Granger, Hermione's father," Dan spoke up. "You're very welcome to be Hermione's best friend, but let me just tell you one thing. If you ever hurt my daughter..."

"He won't, Dad," Hermione interrupted him, groaning. "I've known Harry for more than seven years now, we're bonded and we love each other. You don't have to protect me from Harry. By the way, I'd like Harry to stay here with us until we're going to leave for Hogwarts, as his relatives starved and abused him and I don't want him to return there."

"Of course, you may live with us, Harry," Emma replied, nodding reassuringly. "Harry can stay in the guest room next to your room, Hermione."

"Thank you very much," Harry spoke up. He immediately liked Hermione's parents, although he had the impression as if her father was slightly reserved towards him.

Hermione showed her parents several more memories of their time together in the past, before the children could not stop yawning anymore and were sent to bed.

"Harry, don't we have to contact your relatives and tell them that you're here?" Emma remembered to ask, when the children headed upstairs.

Harry shook his head. "No thank you, they'll just be glad that I'm gone," he replied in a soft voice.

HP

Harry and Hermione decided to thoroughly enjoy their summer holidays without thinking about all the fights and struggles they were supposed to go through once they attended Hogwarts in this time. On the first day, they remained at home together with Hermione's parents to get used to being small again and to give Hermione's parents and Harry the opportunity to get to know each other. On the following day, however, Harry insisted going to Diagon Alley.

'I want to speak with the goblins and ask if my parents left me any money. I really need to go and buy some proper clothes of this time,' Harry thought to Hermione, who immediately agreed.

'Your parents surely left you something, and remember that you're also the heir of the four founders. You'll have access to their vaults as well,' she said, smiling, before she informed their parents that they intended to travel to Diagon Alley in the morning.

"Mr. and Mrs. Granger, would you perhaps like to accompany us?" Harry asked, still feeling very shy towards his wife's parents.

"I'd like that," Emma replied, while her husband nodded his interest.

"How are we going to travel?" Dan asked, giving the children a questioning look.

"I'll make us a Portkey," Harry decided. "That's the fastest way for all four of us to travel together."

HP

In the morning, the Portkey took the family straight to Gringotts, where Harry addressed one of the goblins.

"Good day, sir. I am Harry Potter, and I'd like to see my vault."

"One moment," the goblin replied and motioned the group of four to wait beside a small side door.

A mere instant later, another goblin stepped through the door and greeted them, sounding very friendly.

"Good day, Lord and Lady Potter, I am Buckbean, and I'm responsible for the Potter heritage," he introduced himself, before he motioned them to follow him through the door.

He led them into a small office and after motioning them to take a seat left again to fetch a file.

'Lady Potter?' Hermione thought to Harry, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the idea that people might know about their marriage in spite of their young age.

'Well, maybe it's known in the magical world, since we married in the past,' Harry thought back to his wife, only to add, 'Don't worry about it, love. We'll manage, and you're not alone.'

Finally, Buckbean returned, just after a house-elf served refreshments, almost causing the Grangers to freak out at the sight of the strange creature.

"Lord Potter," Buckbean began to speak, skimming the folder in front of him.

"Please just call me Harry," Harry spoke up, tightly holding Hermione's hand under the table.

"Very well, Harry, you're one of the richest wizards in Britain," Buckbean continued. "You own twenty-two vaults at Gringotts along with eleven buildings all over Europe. However, there are only four vaults and two buildings, which you can access right now without being of age in the magical world. The buildings which you can access right away are Potter Manor and Gryffindor Manor. You have one vault that your parents specifically made for you to cover your Hogwarts education, two vaults from the founders of Hogwarts and one vault that was made by the Ministry of Magic in December 997 containing the money from the Order of Merlin first class that you received for curing the werewolves," he read from a list. "There are more vaults both from your parents and the founders waiting for you."

 _'That was after we returned here,'_ Harry thought. _'I wonder what the Order of Merlin is, but it sounds cool if it gives me some money to pay for my own things.'_

"Excuse me, sir, but doesn't being married make him an adult in the magical world?" Hermione threw in, giving Buckbean a questioning look.

"Not automatically," Buckbean replied, looking from Harry to his wife. "If you officially claim your status as Lord Potter, the fact that you're married will make you an adult in the magical world. I believe, however, that you should consider well if you wish to officially become an adult, as it would make you a member of the Wizengamot with the right to vote, which might involve you in troubles between other wizarding families like the Malfoys or Lady Longbottom, which - as far as I am informed - is not always pleasant." Seeing that Harry and Hermione were listening with apparent interest, he continued, "On the other hand, being considered an adult would keep you out of the reach of others."

Noticing Harry's questioning look, he explained, "For the time being, the Dursleys are listed as your Muggle guardians, while Albus Dumbledore is your magical guardian. If he sends you back to your relatives over the summer holidays, you'll be obliged to spend your summer holidays there. If you were an adult, no one would be able to force you to comply with anyone's wishes."

"I want it," Harry immediately decided, remembering all too well Rowena's visions about the white-bearded headmaster that he had watched in the past.

"Then we shall make you the head of the Potter house," Buckbean said, seemingly contented. "This has the advantage that you can add your wife as well as her parents to your family, which means that they'll be under your protection and also that you'll replace Albus Dumbledore as your wife's magical guardian."

"Yes please, sir," Hermione spoke up, decisively. "We both don't trust Albus Dumbledore. Excuse me, sir, what kind of protection would it offer my parents?"

"Since your husband is famous in the magical world as the boy who lived, both of you might become a target to former followers of Voldemort," Buckbean explained, patiently. "This won't exclude your parents, considering that they as Muggles are an easy target for Death Eaters. However, if they belonged to Harry's family, the Potter family could offer protection, for example in form of wards around their house, and people would think twice if they really want to attack a member of the ancient, noble house of Potter."

"All right Buckbean, please add Hermione and her parents to the Potter family, provided that you're okay with it, Mr. and Mrs. Granger?" Harry turned his eyes to the Grangers, who had so far quietly observed the conversation.

"If our daughter trusts you enough to become your wife, who would we be to not trust you, Harry?" Emma replied, smiling.

"If you think that's what we should do to keep my wife and daughter safe, we gladly agree," Dan added.

"Very well." Buckbean nodded his understanding. "One more thing concerning family and guardianship, may I suggest that Mr. and Mrs. Granger become Harry's guardians in the Muggle world to replace the Dursleys?"

'Oh yes please,' Harry thought, not daring to voice his plead.

"Yes please," Hermione replied aloud, giving her parents a questioning look.

"Of course, Mr. Buckbean," Emma replied right away.

"That's fine with us," Dan added, "if Harry agrees."

"Yes sir, thank you very much," Harry confirmed, somehow feeling incredibly happy and also very grateful for Buckbean's thoughtfulness. "So we don't need a magical guardian, is that right?" he asked, not sure if he had understood everything correctly.

"That is correct, however, if you ever have problems because of your age, feel free to come to me and I'll support the two of you with all my means," Buckbean promised, while he prepared a small pile of parchments that Harry would have to sign. "If you wish to have a magical guardian, I can put my name if you trust me to keep your best interests in mind," he added, giving the young couple a questioning look.

"Yes please, Buckbean," they both replied at the same time.

HP

If Harry and Hermione had assumed that their meeting would be finished soon, now that they had clarified all the guardianship matters, they were sadly mistaken.

"There are two things, which I'd like to make you aware of, Harry," Buckbean said, after placing the parchments that required a signature in front of Harry. "I'd like you to see the expenses of the Potter account from the time when your parents died onwards, and I wish you to take a look at your parents' will."

 _'My parents' will?'_ Harry thought with a combination of curiosity and disbelief.

Placing another parchment in front of Harry and Hermione, he explained, "A certain, very small amount is taken every month for the house-keeping of Potter Manor. You have a group of twelve house-elves who work at the manor. Other than that, it seems that Professor Dumbledore helped himself to a certain amount each month and that he also sent money to the Dursleys for keeping you and to the Weasleys for befriending you once you were to come to Hogwarts."

"What?" Harry and Hermione blurted out, simultaneously.

Buckbean smirked, as he informed them that he could revoke each single money transfer that had been made to the Dursleys', Weasleys' and Dumbledore accounts.

"Yes please," Harry agreed in a firm voice.

Buckbean smirked again as he proceeded, stating that the Dursleys, the Weasleys along with Professor Dumbledore were in for a big surprise.

"Will they know what happened?" Harry asked, not wanting to cause trouble for anyone, although he had to admit to himself that at least the Dursleys and Dumbledore deserved it.

"They will know sooner or later," Buckbean confirmed. "It depends on how closely they watch their accounts."

Seeing Harry and Hermione nod in agreement, Buckbean took another parchment from the folder and began to read aloud.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	7. Chapter 7

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

 ** _'Lily and James Potter's will_**

 _If we're both dead, all our residences and items within our vaults shall belong to our son Harry._

 _Harry shall be raised either by his godfather Sirius, his godmother Alice or, if neither of them is available for some reason, by Minerva McGonagall or Remus Lupin. Under no circumstances is he to be placed with my sister Petunia and her family._

 _If we're dead because Voldemort went after us, Peter Pettigrew shall receive a one-way ticket to Azkaban, as he was our Secret Keeper._

 _Harry, we want you to know that we both love you very much, and we wish you a very happy life. If by chance our will is ignored and you end up with our horrible relatives, please go and find either of the above mentioned or Buckbean, our account manager at Gringotts. Each of these persons will help you out._

 _Lily and James Potter'_

HP

"And why was I placed with the Dursleys?" Harry blurted out, feeling incredibly upset about the matter.

"Because Albus Dumbledore decided to ignore your parents' will and place you there," Buckbean replied in a stern voice. "However, it's even worse. You must understand that I was not able to read your parents' will until now, since I was not your magical guardian. In fact, your godfather Sirius was put into Azkaban without as much as a trial, because Dumbledore told the public that he was your parents' Secret Keeper." He remained pensive for a moment, before he continued.

"I suggest that you take the will with you along with a copy of it. Unfortunately, the Minister of Magic is not someone eager to jump into activity for whatever reason. Therefore, it might be the best if you sent the copy to Professor McGonagall, considering that she is named in the will, and ask her about your godparents and your placing with the Dursleys. Please tell her that I will support her if she tries to convince the Ministry to have a trial for your godfather in order to free an innocent man from Azkaban."

"Thank you Buckbean. I'll buy an owl and write to her tonight," Harry agreed. "Thank you so much for all your advice and consideration."

HP

It was already lunchtime, when Harry and the Grangers left Gringotts, each of them with a small bag of gold in their pocket, feeling very contented about several matters. After lunch in a Muggle restaurant, they went shopping at Diagon Alley, where they bought clothes as well as Harry's school supplies and a snowy white owl.

"Shall we name her Ceridwen?" Hermione suggested, causing Harry to smile at the thought of their best friend, who had remained in the past.

"Yes, that's a wonderful idea," he agreed, before he told the owl, "Your name is Ceridwen, and you belong to Hermione and me. Will you be able to go home by yourself, which means to the Grangers' house?"

The beautiful owl nodded, giving him a comforting shoo-hoo, before she took into the air.

After finishing their shopping, Hermione suggested travelling to Potter Manor.

"If there are house-elves like Buckbean said there are, they'll be able to make dinner for us, and maybe there's a portrait of your parents at the manor, which would be an amazing place to celebrate your eleventh birthday," she explained, grinning. "Otherwise, we could still spend the evening at home or at Gryffindor Manor."

HP

A portrait of his parents sounded extremely appealing, and Harry immediately agreed. Seeing Hermione's parents stand there smiling, like they had done during most of their activities at Diagon Alley, he immediately made a Portkey right to the entrance hall of Potter Manor, before he led the Grangers to a small side street, which was not as frequented as the main street, and activated the Portkey, as soon as everyone had touched it.

When the world had stopped turning around, Harry found himself in a large hall and, to his surprise, surrounded by a group of house-elves, while his wife and her parents were gone.

"Master Harry," one of the elves spoke up and introduced herself as Gina, the head house-elf of Potter Manor.

"Hello Gina, please excuse me, but where are my wife and her parents?" Harry asked in apparent concern.

"Your family were probably rejected by the wards," Gina told him, patiently, before she instructed him to follow him outside.

Harry left through the main entrance door, noticing in shock that all three members of his family were lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious.

"Are they all right? What happened?" he blurted out, eyeing Gina, questioningly.

"They'll be all right," the elf replied in a soothing voice, and, with a flick of her wand, Hermione and her parents were turned conscious. "Master Harry, you have to key them to the wards of the manor," she informed him.

"This is Hermione, my wife, and these are her parents, Emma and Dan Granger," Harry said quickly, deciding to properly introduce them first. "This is Gina, the head house-elf of Potter Manor."

Gina smiled and taught Harry the spell that he had to perform in order to key his visitors to the manor. Two minutes later, Hermione, Emma and Dan followed Harry inside with apparent amazement.

 _'They're all wearing the same clothes,'_ Harry only now felt relaxed enough to notice his surroundings. _'I wonder if that's the Potter crest.'_

'It probably is,' Hermione thought back, smiling.

Gina once again stepped in front of the other house-elves and began to speak. "Master Harry, Mistress Hermione and Mistress Hermione's parents, welcome to Potter Manor. Please call me if you need our help with anything. Dinner will be served in the dining room in a few minutes' time. Would you like me to take you there?"

"Thank you very much, Gina," Harry replied, smiling at the elves. "Please just call us by our given names. There's no need to call us Master or Mistress."

"But you will be our master and mistress? Gina asked, sceptically.

"Of course, Gina," Hermione replied, quickly, before she enquired, "Does Harry perhaps have to renew the bond between you and the Potter family?"

The small elf seemed extremely relieved at the offer. "Yes please, we'd appreciate that very much."

"All right Gina," Harry spoke up, glancing questioningly at his wife. "Please tell me what I have to do."

Gina was back to smiling. "Thank you so much, Harry and Hermione. I can do the bonding for you. I only need to know that you really want it."

"Of course," Harry and Hermione reassured the elf, simultaneously.

Gina raised her hand, and an instant later, a golden glow engulfed the small group of elves as well as Hermione and Harry. Only when the glow faded after about a minute, Gina let her hand sink and nodded. "The bonding is renewed, Harry and Hermione. Thank you very much. Shall we prepare the master bedroom and two adjacent bedrooms?"

Harry glanced at Hermione and was just about to reply that they wouldn't use the master bedroom until they were of age, when he saw Hermione nod her agreement.

"Yes please," he then replied, quirking an eyebrow at his wife in silent question.

'I'm not saying that we're going to have sex yet,' Hermione thought to him, rolling her eyes. 'Still it might be nice to have the master bedroom, where I could occasionally visit you to cuddle.'

"Very well, let me take you to the dining room," Gina said in determination, wearing a mischievous expression as she opened a door at the far end of the entrance hall that made Harry wonder what the kind elf might be up to.

HP

As soon as they stepped into the room behind Gina, Harry noticed the reason for the elf's mischievous expression. A life size portrait of his parents was decorating the room.

"Harry!" Lily was the first to greet him, looking at him in apparent amazement.

"Mum and Dad," Harry replied, staring at the portrait with a combination of awe and disbelief. "These are Hermione and her parents," he quickly introduced his new family to his parents.

"Your girlfriend?" his father spoke up, grinning, as he continued, "You're mighty young to have a girlfriend, aren't you?"

Harry smirked. "Not my girlfriend, my wife," he corrected his father. Somehow, he felt like inwardly groaning upon realising that they had to go through the explanations again, which they had given the Grangers just two days ago.

Half an hour later, the Potters were fully up-to-date and seemingly thrilled about what they had heard and been shown in memories.

"Although it's somehow strange considering that you're just only eleven, I'm very happy that you found such a nice wife," Lily said, smiling lovingly at her son and his best friend.

"Yes, that's great," James agreed, "and I hope that you'll be able to get the best of Dumbledore. How dare he!"

"Oh believe me, I won't be the Harry Potter he probably believes me to be after growing up with Aunt Petunia and her horrible family," Harry replied, grinning.

"Are the four of you going to reside in the manor?" James asked, giving Emma and Dan a questioning look.

"Oh, that would be amazing," Hermione blurted out. "Please Mum and Dad, let's stay here at the manor."

The Grangers exchanged a glance, however, James' apparent good mood was so convincing that they agreed to remain at the manor until Hermione and Harry were going to leave for Hogwarts.

HP

'This was my best birthday ever,' Harry thought to Hermione later the same evening, when he was lying in bed letting his eyes wander around the master bedroom. It was a large room with an enormous double bed, a large wardrobe opposite the bed, bookshelves on both sides of the door and a window that covered the complete outer wall and was equipped with a balcony going out onto the park behind the manor.

'I'm so happy that we have your parents here, and that my parents agreed that we can live here for the time being,' Hermione thought back. 'Now we can speak with them every day.'

'I'm really happy,' Harry agreed, 'good night dear.'

'Good night, Harry. Love you.'

'Love you too,' Harry replied, smiling, before he drifted off to sleep, exhausted from a long day, which had ended in the Recreation room at the manor that was equipped with several magical and Muggle games and even a Muggle TV.

HP

In the morning, Harry and Hermione sat down together to write Harry's letter to Professor McGonagall.

 _'Dear Professor McGonagall,_

 _Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak with Buckbean, the Potters' account manager at Gringotts, and received a copy of my parents' will. Buckbean also told me that my godfather, Sirius Black, has been sent to Azkaban without as much as a trial because of being my parents' Secret Keeper, which - according to the will, of which I enclose a copy - is not true. Since I don't know anyone in the magical world, due to the ignorance of my parents' will and my upbringing with my horrid relatives, I'd like to ask you for an advice as to how to get my innocent godfather out of Azkaban. Buckbean instructed me to tell you that he would fully support you or anyone trying to get a trial for my godfather._

 _Thank you in advance for any help,_

 _best regards,_

 _Harry Potter'_

Swiftly finishing the letter, Harry sent Ceridwen to Hogwarts to give the parchment to Professor McGonagall. The snowy white owl seemed slightly nervous when Harry attached the letter to her left foot, however, left with a reassuring shoo-hoo.

"I hope the professor will try to help us," Hermione said, pensively. "She was really nice when she came to visit us on my eleventh birthday and told us about Hogwarts. She even took us to Diagon Alley to introduce us to the magical world and help us buy my school supplies."

HP

It was only a week later that Harry received a devastating response from the professor.

 _'Dear Harry,_

 _I apologize that it took me so long to reply to your letter. In the meantime, I have led conversations with Professor Dumbledore, our headmaster, as well as Mr. Fudge, the Minister of Magic, and Madam Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, in other words, the head of the Aurors. Unfortunately, I was informed that Mr. Black is not only in Azkaban because everyone assumed that he was your parents' Secret Keeper but also because of being responsible for the death of Peter Pettigrew along with thirteen Muggles. Madam Bones has, however, promised me to try to bring further light into the events that happened a decade ago. If anything changes, you will be informed immediately. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you on the first of September._

 _Best regards,  
Minerva McGonagall'_

"Rubbish!" James bellowed, when Harry finished reading the letter aloud that had reached him during breakfast. "Sirius would never kill anyone. I don't have a clue what happened, but I'm absolutely sure that Peter set up something. He's a rat Animagus, which tells you everything about his character."

Everyone remained thoughtful for a moment, before James spoke up again. "Harry, write to Madam Bones and explain about Peter's Animagus form and that I'm sure that whatever happened was organised by him."

In spite of feeling slightly apprehensive writing a letter to an unknown person, let alone the head of the Aurors, Harry obediently sat down and penned his letter, sending it to Madam Bones with Ceridwen right away.

He received an answer later the same day.

 _'Dear Mr. Potter,_

 _Thank you very much for the valuable information. I will have the members of the Department of Magical Mysteries look into the matter. However, I'd like to tell you to not get your hopes up, considering that there have not been any contradicting indices concerning this case during the last ten years. I shall keep you updated on any news._

 _Best regards_

 _Amelia Bones_

 _Head of Magical Law Enforcement'_

"Well, that's better than nothing I guess," Harry spoke up, feeling slightly disappointed at the advice of not getting his hopes up.

"We can only wait and see," Hermione agreed, carefully pulling her husband into an embrace, before she suddenly stiffened. "Harry wait," she blurted out. "If Peter was still alive, shouldn't we be able to flash to him in our phoenix forms?"

"You're phoenix Animagi?" James exclaimed in clear disbelief, his eyes widening at the two eleven-year-olds' simultaneous nod. "Go and try then," he instructed the children.

"Be careful though," Lily threw in, worriedly.

"If you encounter any dangerous situation, come back right away," Emma added.

"Don't try to catch him. Just watch out where he is, so that you can give Madam Bones the information," Dan instructed them.

"We'll be careful," Harry promised, before they both transformed into their phoenix forms.

Ignoring the Ohhs and Awws from their parents, they flashed away thinking of the traitor, Peter Pettigrew.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	8. Chapter 8

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

Harry reappeared in what seemed to be a dining room, where a large, red headed family was gathered around a table having dinner. To his utmost relief, he noticed that Hermione was standing right next to him.

'Let's flash back,' his wife thought to him, causing Harry to immediately comply.

"He must be alive," he informed their parents, back at Potter Manor, before he showed them the memory about the red headed family.

"The Weasleys," James spoke up, thoughtfully. "I couldn't see Peter though, so I suppose that he was in his rat form. Harry, please write back to Madam Bones and tell her about the matter.

'The Weasleys?' Harry wondered, knowing that he had heard that name before. "Oh, wasn't that the family who received gold from Dumbledore for befriending me?" he recalled.

"Yes, that was the name," Dan agreed.

Harry immediately set to compose another letter to Madam Bones and, on the following day, received the reply containing a thanks for the information, which she would transfer to the Department of Magical Mysteries.

HP

Before the end of the holidays, they did not receive any new information on the matter, and Harry was slightly frustrated at the thought that his godfather was sitting in Azkaban, probably spending his time waiting for him to come and rescue him.

"Don't give up your hope," Hermione told him, when she came into his room on the last evening of the holidays. "Are we going to take the Hogwarts Express tomorrow, or shall we just apparate to Hogwarts?" she then asked, before pulling Harry into a bear's hug.

"Either way is fine with me, love," Harry replied, as she released her embrace.

Finally, the two eleven-year-olds decided to take the Hogwarts Express, knowing that it was a good opportunity to get to know some of the other first-years.

HP

After a round of hugs and kisses from the Grangers and Lily's promise to visit them at Hogwarts by travelling into some portrait within the castle, Harry and Hermione apparated to the platform, not wanting Emma and Dan to close their dental practice just to accompany them to King's Cross. They decided to arrive an hour early, so that no one would know how about their method of travelling and to have a compartment of their own.

'Better to have others come to sit with us as if we had to join others,' Hermione thought to her husband, grinning.

'True, my wise wife,' Harry agreed, as he let himself sink onto the seat beside the window opposite of Hermione. 'No one must notice that we're married,' he reminded themselves, as he resisted the urge to sit next to her and spend the train travel cuddling.

Hermione nodded, before a sudden thought crossed her mind. "Do you think they'll still be using Sopho for the Sorting? If so, I hope we can bribe him to sort us together."

"I hope so, too," Harry agreed with a slight feeling of foreboding, just when a seemingly shy boy opened the door to their compartment.

"Excuse me, may I sit here?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Of course," Hermione replied, smiling. "We're first-years, too."

"I'm Neville Longbottom," the boy introduced himself, causing Harry and Hermione to smile.

"I'm Hermione Granger, and this is my friend, Harry Potter," Hermione introduced them to the friendly looking boy.

"My mother told me that she was your godmother and your mother was mine," Harry spoke up. "I've only met her in a portrait, but she's told me a lot about you and your parents. I think they attended Hogwarts together."

Neville nodded, seemingly sad. "I've never been able to speak with my parents either, except in a portrait," he admitted.

"What happened to your parents, Neville?" Hermione enquired, carefully. "I know that Harry's parents decided in their will that Harry was supposed to be raised by your mother."

"They were tortured," Neville admitted in a barely audible voice.

"Neville, shall we be friends?" Harry offered, sensing that the boy was not ready to talk about such a thing to complete strangers.

Neville happily agreed and accepted Harry's hand. "I'd like that very much. I've never had any friends before."

"Same here, before we got to know each other," Hermione replied, smiling, as she also offered her hand to Neville, who gladly accepted.

Their conversation ended abruptly, when another first-year joined them, introducing herself as Susan Bones.

"Are you somehow related to Amelia Bones?" Harry asked with interest.

"Yes, she's my aunt," Susan replied, hesitantly telling the other first-years about her parents' fate.

"I've only exchanged a few letters with her, but she seems very nice," Harry said, causing Susan to smile.

By the time the train reached Hogsmeade, Harry and Hermione had the impression as if they had already gained two good friends.

HP

A very large man, who caused Hermione to think to Harry, 'He's not big enough to be a giant, but maybe a half giant, called the first-years over to the shore of the lake, where the young couple and their new friends managed to get into a boat together. They thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride and were totally in awe when the boat finally reached its destiny.

'What a weird but nice way to arrive at Hogwarts,' Harry thought to his wife. 'We have to tell Rowena about it.'

HP

A few minutes later, they were standing in front of Professor McGonagall, who gave the new first-years a short introduction to Hogwarts, before she led them into the Great Hall, where the Sorting was going to commence shortly.

'Thank Merlin it's still Sopho,' Hermione thought. 'Since I'm going to be sorted first, you must talk him into sorting you into the same house.'

'I'll do my best,' Harry promised, looking at the Hat in anticipation, right before the Sorting, which according to Sopho was the craziest Sorting that Hogwarts had ever seen, began.

Professor McGonagall began calling the students from her list like Rowena had done in the past, and Harry and Hermione assumed that it would soon be Hermione's name to be called, when the professor suddenly let out a gasp. She covered her eyes with her right hand, before she stared at the list in apparent shock.

"Minerva, are you not feeling well?" a wizard called out from the high table.

Harry recognised him immediately. It was Albus too-many-middle-names Dumbledore.

"I'm fine," the deputy headmistress replied, crisply. "It's just that a name vanished from the list, just when I was about to call the girl." She stared at the group of first-years, and her eyes lingered on Hermione, before she added, "Oh well, I'll continue for the time being."

'She's in for a few more surprises today,' Sopho thought to Harry, when McGonagall placed him onto his head a few minutes later.

'Sopho, will you please sort Hermione and me together?' Harry thought back, pleadingly.

'I shall do you the favour,' Sopho replied, before he shouted into the hall, "Founders' quarters."

'Thanks,' Harry thought to the Hat, before he pulled him off his head and handed him back to McGonagall.

The professor gave him a concerned look, before she instructed him to sit at any of the house-tables and come to see her after the feast.

Harry headed straight to where Neville was sitting at the Gryffindor table, noticing that his friend's expression changed to a huge smile, when he sat next to him.

"Potter, Hermione," McGonagall called out in clear disbelief, and Hermione headed to talk to Sopho.

"Founders' quarters," Shopho shouted a mere instant later.

While Hermione handed him back to the professor, smiling broadly, the headmaster admonished the Hat. "Please properly sort the students."

"I'm just doing my job," Sopho replied, haughtily, turning to McGonagall. "Please continue."

Hermione headed straight to the Hufflepuff table, sitting right next to Susan, who was as thrilled as Neville to have her friend beside her.

"We can still be friends, even if we're in different houses," Harry and Hermione reassured their friends, just when Professor McGonagall was about to meet her next obstacle.

The professor finished her list with a relieved sigh, when she noticed that one student remained, who had not been on the list.

"Mr. Weasley," she spoke up in clear surprise. "Why aren't you on my list?"

"I don't know," the redhead replied, sounding upset. "I've sent me Hogwarts letter back on time."

"Well come on and let's get you sorted then," McGonagall decided, motioning the boy to come forward.

However, Sopho refused to be placed onto the boy's head. "He's not properly enrolled at Hogwarts," he informed the deputy headmistress. "His school fees haven't been paid."

While the whole student body observed the conversation with clear amusement, Dumbledore rose from his seat. "Sopho, don't make such a fuss. Just sort the boy. I am sure that his school fees have been paid, as I saw to it myself."

"No, headmaster," the Hat outright refused.

"Just sit at the Gryffindor table for now, and we'll discuss the matter later on," Dumbledore instructed Ronald Weasley, decisively.

Already having an idea what might have happened, Harry could not help grinning, causing the redhead, who had taken the seat just opposite of him, to see red. "What's so funny?" he asked, crossly.

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "It's my first evening at Hogwarts, and I'm happy to be here and have already found a friend. That's why I'm very happy," he replied, innocently.

The other first-years seemed to share Harry's opinion and began to eagerly introduce themselves to each other. Only when they were finished, the red headed twins who were sitting next to Ronald addressed Harry.

"Tell us..."

"... why did the Hat sort you..."

"... into the founders' quarters..."

"... although this has never happened before?" they asked in a funny sing-song.

Harry shrugged. "I've no idea," he replied, innocently looking at the twins. 'The twins seem nicer than their younger brother,' he thought to Hermione. 'Other than him, all the first-years seem nice.'

'Same here,' Hermione thought back. 'Poor Dumbledore, he must be devastated,' she added, and Harry could vision her grin in his mind.

HP

Almost too soon for his liking, the feast ended, and while the prefects led everyone to their respective houses, Harry and Hermione headed to the high table, noticing in surprise that Ronald Weasley made no move to follow them.

'Does he think he can just sort himself into Gryffindor?' Harry thought to his wife, incredulously, as he turned around, seeing the boy follow the Gryffindor first-years.'

'Hogwarts will have a feast,' Hermione thought back, grinning.

"Good evening Mr. and Miss Potter," Albus Dumbledore greeted them in a soft, grandfatherly voice. "Now that was a strange Sorting tonight. Do you have any idea as to why our Hat sorted you into the founders' quarters? This has never happened before in the history of Hogwarts."

"I find it even stranger that Miss Granger now suddenly appeared as Miss Potter," McGonagall threw in, shaking her head in apparent annoyance.

"Professor McGonagall, would it be possible to speak with you in private?" Harry finally spoke up, causing the deputy headmistress to cast him a surprised look.

"Ah but Mr. Potter, as you might not know, I am the headmaster here, and my colleagues and I only want to help you. There's no need to speak with any of our professors in private," Dumbledore hurried to reassure Harry.

"You're the headmaster?" Harry asked, feigning surprise. "So that means that you're the one who completely ignored my parents' will and placed me with my Muggle relatives? In that case, you must surely understand that I wouldn't trust you with as much as my first year Potions book."

Dumbledore visibly paled, while several sniggers from older students could be heard, who had remained in the Great Hall to observe what was promising to be a small spectacle.

"We should retreat to my office," Dumbledore spoke up, sounding slightly grumpy.

"May Hermione and I please be excused then?" Harry asked in a firm voice. "As far as I know, first-years are supposed to go to bed right after the feast, and that's what we'd like to do."

Dumbledore cast him a glare, before he enquired if he knew where the founders' quarters were if such quarters even existed in this time.

Harry and Hermione were still considering an appropriate response, when help appeared in the form of a ghost.

"They're the heirs of the founders of Hogwarts and as such the owners of Hogwarts at this time," Helena Ravenclaw explained to the professors. "Their decisions can overwrite even the headmaster's, and they're entitled to live in my parents' rooms, which is where I'm going to take them now."

The headmaster somehow seemed lost, however, Harry and Hermione looked gratefully at Helena, who had still be a five-year-old, when they saw her the last time, and followed her through the hall in relief.

Just when they reached the doors, they burst open and Ronald Weasley stormed inside, closely followed by his brother Percy, a Gryffindor prefect.

"The Fat Lady refuses to let my brother in," Percy blurted out.

"Of course she won't let him in," Helena replied, coldly. "He hasn't been sorted into Gryffindor. He isn't even a Hogwarts student." With that she led Harry and Hermione out of the Great Hall, chuckling, when they crossed the now empty entrance hall.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	9. Chapter 9

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

Minerva McGonagall was confused. In fact, in her more than fifty years of teaching experience at Hogwarts, she had never felt as perplexed before. Ronald was the sixth child of the Weasleys, and, even if the red headed family did not have money to spare, they should know better than to send the boy to Hogwarts without paying his school fees. Then again, Albus had said something like he had seen to it a few minutes ago, making her wonder what the headmaster had to do with the boy's tuition fees.

 _'Oh well, if Albus has his hand in this, he clearly made a grave mistake,'_ she thought, feeling thoroughly annoyed with the headmaster, which was not the first time. Only a few weeks ago, she had had a huge fight with her mentor and long-time friend, after receiving a copy of Lily and James Potter's will from their son. However, Albus had merely talked himself out of all accusations, stating that he knew best and that she would realise sooner or later that all his decisions were just for the greater good.

By now they had reached the headmaster's office, and Albus leaned into the fireplace to call Molly and Arthur Weasley.

HP

Two minutes later, Molly and Arthur were sitting next to Ronald and Percy, and the headmaster began to speak in a grave voice.

"Only at the Sorting ceremony, I received the information that there was a problem with Ronald's school fees," he said, causing Arthur to cast his wife a questioning look.

"But Albus, you said you were going to pay Ron's fees under the condition that he friends Harry Potter," Molly spoke up, sounding extremely upset. "We waited on the Muggle platform until five minutes before the Hogwarts Express left, but the Potter boy never showed up."

"You did what?" Mr. Weasley blurted out, seemingly horrified. "You told me you had seen to it that Ron's fees were paid, but you never told me of such a deal."

"Disgusting," Percy added, glaring at his mother.

"Yes, that was the deal, but something must have gone wrong," Albus admitted. "I need to head to Gringotts first thing tomorrow morning and enquire about the matter. I advised the goblins to pay the fees right from Harry Potter's vault," he admitted and suggested, "For the time being, I can only advise you to take Ronald home with you and make him floo back here on time for classes in the morning."

Minerva had to really make an effort to keep quiet and not verbally attack the headmaster in anger. _'Making Harry pay the school fees for Ronald to friend him? How dare Albus make such a deal?'_ she thought, feeling extremely upset.

"Yes Molly, do so," Arthur spoke up. "I will return to my office for the night, before I decide what to do tomorrow after cooling down. How dare you make such a deal with the headmaster. Percy is right; it's disgusting." Turning to Minerva, he added, "I am truly sorry for my wife's bad decision, Minerva. I hope you won't hold a grudge against any of our children because of this."

"Of course not, Arthur," Minerva reassured him in the softest voice she could muster, before she continued, much stricter, "I know exactly whose idea this must have been."

HP

"How dare you?" she hissed at the headmaster, once the Weasleys had left.

Albus thoughtfully let his hands wander over his much too long beard. "You know yourself that the Weasleys can't afford having so many children at Hogwarts at the same time, and Harry Potter is in dire need of a friend, considering that he was raised in the Muggle world, so I thought..."

"You thought," Minerva repeated in disbelief, letting out a snort. "You thoroughly messed up, old man. Not something that the headmaster of Hogwarts should do. Let me tell you what happened. Harry was at Gringotts, where he received his parents' will that I showed you the other day, and the goblins most likely told him about your deal, suggesting for him to cancel the payment."

"Oh no," Albus groaned as realisation set in. "That's too bad."

"Yes, it is, and I believe that you don't have any other choice than to pay Ronald's fees yourself," Minerva added, strictly, noticing the headmaster's troubled expression at her suggestion.

"I'll have to see what I can do," Albus replied, seemingly horrified at the idea.

Shaking her head in annoyance, Minerva bade the headmaster good night and returned to her rooms, wondering if it was the old age that caused Albus to make such ridiculous decisions. Only when she was getting ready for bed, she recalled that Harry had asked her for a private conversation. _'Oh no, I didn't even reply to him due to the hassle about Ronald's Sorting,'_ she realised.

"Malcolm," she called her private house-elf. "Please find Harry Potter first thing in the morning and accompany him to my office before breakfast."

"Yes Mistress Minerva," Malcolm promised, causing Minerva to sigh in relief. _'At least I can still rely on Malcolm and Poppy,'_ she thought. _'Albus, however, seems to be going completely nuts.'_

HP

Harry and Hermione spent the night together in Harry's old room. The chamber looked similar to how it had been in the past, merely the furniture seemed more modern. They enlarged the bed and slept next to each other with Hermione wrapped into Harry's embrace.

"This is even better than I could have hoped for," she mumbled, contentedly.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, before he drifted off to sleep with a huge smile playing on his lips.

HP

In the morning, Helena arrived to wake them up, before their alarm clock went off.

"Professor McGonagall's house-elf Malcolm just approached me," she told them. "He couldn't access our quarters. In fact, none of the house-elves can enter our rooms if you don't specifically invite them. Anyway, Professor McGonagall wishes to speak to Harry before breakfast."

"All right, thank you Helena. Let's get dressed and go to see the professor," Harry spoke up, suddenly feeling very much awake and alert. "Do you know where her office is?"

Helena smirked. "How could I not, considering that I've lived here as a ghost for more than nine hundred years?" she asked back before promising to escort the two first-years.

HP

Feeling strangely excited and wondering if it was the right thing to confide into the deputy headmistress, Harry and Hermione followed Helena, who stopped in front of a door that was guarded by Godric's portrait.

"Hello Godric," Harry greeted the founder, smiling broadly.

"Harry and Hermione, how good to see you again," Godric replied, returning the smile. "Did you come to see me, or do you wish to speak with Professor McGonagall?" he then asked.

"As much as I'd love to talk to you, we have an appointment with the professor," Harry replied, inwardly sighing. _'It would be nice to just talk with Godric right now,'_ he thought, noticing that Hermione unobtrusively nodded her head in agreement.

HP

"Good morning Mr. Potter and Miss Potter or is it Mrs. Potter?" McGonagall greeted them with a small smile on her face.

"Mrs. Potter," Hermione replied, honestly, "although it was our intention to keep the matter a secret at least for a few years."

"I believe that your Sorting leaves multiple questions including this one," McGonagall then continued, smirking. "Would you be willing to explain some things to me?"

Harry looked at the professor, before he replied in a stern voice. "Helena has advised us to fully trust you, therefore, we have decided to tell you the whole story. However, we need you to reassure us that you won't inform anyone about what we're going to tell you, especially not the headmaster, since we don't trust him at all."

"I promise," McGonagall replied, smiling, before she rose from her seat and headed towards the portrait of an older wizard. "I'm sorry, Gregory, but I need to do this," she apologized before turning the portrait to face the wall. "Godric," she called out to the portrait at the entrance, causing Hermione to interrupt.

"Godric is all right, Professor. He knows everything anyway," she explained, making the professor stare at her in disbelief.

 _'I hope McGonagall will take everything well,'_ Harry thought, as he began to tell their story with Hermione's and Godric's assitance. _'She might be able and hopefully willing to help us against the almighty headmaster.'_

HP

"You finished your complete Hogwarts education in the time of the founders, were then de-aged and came back to attend Hogwarts in this time?" McGonagall repeated, incredulously.

"Rowena knew that we're going to have to fight Voldemort in this time," Harry replied, nodding.

"Exactly Minerva," Godric spoke up from his portrait, "and I believe they did a good job to confide in you. If you help them with their fight and assist them against the headmaster, maybe we'll be able to meet in person one day, since both of them are able to make time-travel Portkeys."

"This sounds extremely appealing, and I promise to support the two of you as much as I can," McGonagall replied, smiling, before she glanced at her wrist watch. "I think we urgently need to leave for the Great Hall though, as breakfast is going to commence soon. Would it be all right for you if I placed you into the class together with the Gryffindors and Slytherins?"

Harry and Hermione agreed and swiftly followed the professor downstairs to the Great Hall, deciding to switch house tables at every meal, which caused the professor to give them an encouraging nod. After a short, telepathic discussion, they headed straight to the Slytherin table, intending to grace the Ravenclaws with their presence at lunchtime.

HP

Severus Snape inwardly groaned as he let himself sink into his chair between Minerva and Poppy at the high table. _'My worst seven years after my childhood are going to commence today,'_ he thought, grumpily. Of course he had known for a long time that Harry Potter was going to come to Hogwarts and he had dreaded the moment the boy would enter the castle. However, seeing the boy being sorted into the founders' quarters instead of a proper house, even if it would have most likely been Gryffindor, caused him to be even more annoyed than he could have imagined.

Severus observed with bewilderment how Potter and his friend or whatever the girl was took seats at the Slytherin table. _'Oh well, since they haven't been sorted into a house and the Grey Lady said they were the owners of Hogwarts, they can probably do as they want,'_ he thought, as he observed how Potter shook hands with Draco Malfoy, who was sitting on his left side.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. _'If he gets on with Draco, maybe it'll help brush up Slytherin's reputation.'_ In fact, he had already prepared three well thought questions in order to ridicule the new celebrity, however, he suddenly decided to not use them in his first class but wait and see if the boy's character was the spitting image of his father like his outer appearance. _'Maybe he's more than Lily,'_ he mused, although he told himself to not get his hopes up. _'Considering that he told Albus he didn't trust him, I'll have to be careful in any case. I wouldn't want to get on his bad side if he can overwrite Albus' decisions.'_

"Severus, are you feeling all right?" Minerva's voice brought him back to reality. "Don't you have to give out your time tables?"

"Yes, I was just going to do that," Severus replied, coolly, before he rose from his seat.

"Please give the Potters the same time tables, as they'll have classes together with Gryffindor and Slytherin," Minerva instructed him, making Severus nod, almost automatically.

HP

Harry and Hermione realised that the Slytherin first-years were as nice as their classmates in Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, and even the professor was not as grumpy as he had appeared to them during the welcoming feast. He even handed them their time tables.

When breakfast was finished, Harry and Hermione gathered the first-years and motioned the group to walk by the Gryffindor table to collect the other half of their class, before they led their classmates to the Transfiguration classroom for their first morning class. None of them noticed the amazed looks that followed them from the high table, where McGonagall addressed her Slytherin colleague with apparent amusement. "Maybe the Potters will help improve the relationship between our houses."

Snape contented himself quirking an eyebrow at his colleague, feigning disbelief, before he rose from his seat and strode through the Great Hall to be in the dungeons on time.

HP

Sitting on her desk in her feline form, Minerva observed the students enter the classroom with amazement that only intensified, when the first-years took their seats, not sorted according to their houses but in a completely mixed up order. She stared in disbelief at the front row, where Hermione and Harry were sitting with Blaise Zabini on their left and Neville Longbottom on their right side.

 _'I've never thought I'd ever see such a thing,'_ she thought, feeling strangely proud of the new first-years, who stared at her in clear amazement when she transformed back into her human form.

Only Ronald Weasley, who arrived at the classroom fifteen minutes late, pulled a face upon realising that the only free seat was next to Draco Malfoy, who was sitting together with Gregory Goyle and Dean Thomas.

"Mr. Weasley, please take a seat," Minerva instructed the boy, slightly impatient. "Or should I transfigure you into a pocket watch to make you come to your classes punctually?"

"Yes sorry, Professor, but I didn't know where the Transfiguration classroom was," Ronald replied, lamely, only to add, "Why do I have to sit next to Slytherins though?"

"Why not? Have you been sorted anywhere else?" Draco blurted out, causing the whole class to snicker.

Feeling completely annoyed at the redhead, although she knew that the situation was not his fault but that of the headmaster, Minerva called the class back to order and made them practise the transformation of a toothpick into a needle. She was not overly surprised when only the four students sitting in the first row and Draco Malfoy managed the task before the end of the class.

HP

Harry and Hermione thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Of course they had to hold back to not show their classmates how easy the transfiguration was for them, however, they unobtrusively managed to help Blaise and Neville practise and felt accomplished when their neighbours and new friends managed to gain house points for the task even if they could not.

Somehow, the class automatically seemed to accept Harry and Hermione as their leaders and immediately followed them out of the classroom towards the dungeons. Upon entering the Potions classroom, the first-years naturally took their seats in a completely mixed up way, unaware of the professor's surprised look.

HP

Harry observed how the professor entered, no, swept into the classroom with expectation. At the welcoming feast, when he had been sitting at the Gryffindor table, the older students had not spoken too friendly about the Slytherin head, however, at breakfast, the professor had been as friendly as Professor McGonagall.

 _'Maybe he's a bit like Salazar, grumpy but nice,'_ Harry thought. During his seven years at Hogwarts in the past, Potions had clearly become his favourite subject, in which he excelled, even according to Salazar, who was very strict and not easily commended students.

'Should we take notes?' he thought to Hermione, when the professor dove in a monologue about the fine art of brewing potions.

However, his wife immediately dismissed the idea. 'No Harry, I believe that we already know enough about the brewing of potions, so we can just relax and listen,' she reassured him.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	10. Chapter 10

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

After a long monologue, the professor allowed the students to brew their first potion. It was the basis for most healing potions, and Harry noticed in surprise that the recipe slightly varied from the version that he had brewed in the past. _'If Snape remains nice, maybe one day I can ask him why they add moon fern before the birch bark and not afterwards and why they skip the step of stirring three and a half times anti-clockwise before the finishing step,'_ he mused, as he easily brewed his potion, thoroughly enjoying himself. _'It's great to be able to brew again,'_ he thought, recalling that the last time he had brewed, he had had to make the wolvescure potion over and over to cure all the werewolves in the past.

HP

Unbeknownst to the boy, Severus was observing him closely. His mother Lily had excelled at brewing, and he was eager to assess if the boy had inherited the ability. However, he was in for a huge surprise. Harry Potter was not only extremely adept at brewing, he even knew exactly how to brew. He prepared the ingredients with an accuracy that he had not seen with any first-year since his own time at Hogwarts. _'Hard to believe that he grew up with Petunia,'_ he thought. _'He and also his sidekick must have been taught by a professional,'_ he finally realised.

He was brought out of his reverie when Potter suddenly hissed at Longbottom, "No, you must cut these much smaller or you'll make your cauldron explode."

 _'Thank Merlin, otherwise, the potion would indeed have exploded,'_ Severus realised, observing how the boy put his own, almost finished potion under a stasis charm and guided his neighbour through the brewing process, before he swiftly finished his own concoction.

 _'Thanks Potter from saving us from a Longbottom desaster,'_ Severus thought to himself, for once regretting that he wasn't been able to award house points. He toyed with the thought of giving the boy detention in order to question him about his brewing abilities, however, he dismissed the idea again, knowing that he wouldn't tell him the truth anyway. _'I need to gain his trust, before I can ask him,'_ he resolved.

HP

'We really need to help Neville with Potions,' Harry thought to Hermione, who had been contentedly observing Blaise's brewing from the corner of her eyes.

'We'll do that,' she thought back, just when the professor instructed everyone to bottle one phial and place it on his desk.

Harry almost jumped in surprise, when the teacher suddenly towered over his cauldron, looked intensely at his potion, sniffed at it and finally took a small spoon out of his robe pocket to taste it.

"Potter, do you know how to magically bottle a batch?" he then asked in a soft voice.

"Yes sir," Harry replied in confusion, glancing at Hermione.

"Then bottle the potion for use in the hospital wing," the professor instructed him, unexpectedly. "I shall take it to Madam Pomfrey later on."

"Excuse me, sir, do you use first-year potions in the hospital wing?" Ronald Weasley spoke up in clear bewilderment.

"Yes Weasley, only first and second year potions," Draco Malfoy replied, causing several students to chuckle.

"Only Harry's," Hermione added in a soothing voice, "because he's very good at brewing."

HP

On their way back to the Great Hall for lunch, Harry instructed the Gryffindors to come to the Slytherin table after the meal, so that they could walk to the greenhouses for their Herbology class together.

Their meal at the Ravenclaw table was as enjoyable as at all the other tables, and Harry and Hermione immediately liked their classmates.

"It's a pity that we don't have classes together," Hermione spoke up, causing Harry to nod.

"Maybe we can think of something that enables all first-years to spend some time together, indifferent of their houses," he added, pensively.

"Yes, that would be a great idea," Mandy Brocklehurst, who was sitting next to Hermione, immediately agreed. "I'd like to get to know the Gryffindors and Slytherins."

"Since you both seem to know your way around the castle so well, could any of you perhaps show us the way to the Potions classroom, please?" Mandy then asked.

"Yes please, we keep being late for classes, as we don't know where everything is," Terry Boot added, and Harry agreed immediately.

"Hermione, please lead our class, I'll join you on time," he said, knowing that his wife would understand that he was just going to apparate from the dungeons to the greenhouses.

HP

It was after the last afternoon class that everyone gathered around Harry and Hermione, apparently wondering what they were going to do now.

"It's too bad that we're confined to our houses instead of being able to study all together," Blaise spoke up, and Neville and Lavender voiced their agreement.

'Room of Requirement?' Harry thought to Hermione, who nodded, smiling.

"We know a room, where we could spend some time all together," Harry then told the others, who eagerly followed his lead to the seventh floor, where he made them promise to not tell anyone about their secret room. "Probably not even the teachers know about it," he explained, causing everyone to grin in expectation.

"If you want to come here without me, you can just pace in front of the wall three times and think 'Harry's study room,' Harry informed his classmates, as he led them into the room. The room was a cosy chamber filled with comfortable looking sofas and chairs in various colours as well as tables, which were small but just the right size to study in small groups.

"This is gorgeous," Millicent Bulstrode blurted out. "Come Lavender, let's sit here."

"Maybe we should invite the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs here too," Harry spoke up, as he lowered himself in a chair between Draco and Hermione, motioning Neville and Blaise to join them.

"That's a good idea," Draco agreed, smirking, "even if my father would kill me for studying together with other than Slytherins."

"He doesn't have to know," Hermione replied, smiling.

HP

Ten minutes later, when they were just half-way through their Potions homework, a house-elf popped up in front of Harry.

"Master Harry, I am Twinkle, the headmaster's house-elf," he introduced himself, before he explained that the headmaster wished to see Harry.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to speak with Professor Dumbledore alone, as I don't trust him to have my best interests in mind," Harry replied in a firm voice. "Would it perhaps be possible to ask Professor McGonagall to join us?"

"The four heads of the houses are with the headmaster anyway," Twinkle replied, crisply. "The password for the gargoyle is 'Mars bars'," he informed the boy before popping away.

"Oh well, I better go and see what he wants," Harry groaned, as he packed his book bag. "I'll see you at dinner."

HP

To Harry's surprise, not only the four heads of the houses were gathered in the headmaster's office, but also Ron Weasley along with his parents. _'I didn't even notice that he wasn't in the Room of Requirement with everyone else,'_ Harry thought, when Fawkes suddenly nestled down on his arm greeting him with a series of happy trills.

"Hi Fawkes," Harry whispered back, smiling.

If the headmaster was surprised about Harry's ability to communicate with his familiar, he did not show it but came straight to the point.

"Mr. Potter, the Sorting Hat requested your presence here. Since Mr. Weasley's school fees are going to be paid before Christmas, I asked the Hat to sort him, so that he'll be able to properly attend Hogwarts from the beginning. However, he told me that it was up to you to decide if Mr. Weasley will be allowed to enrol as a student in spite of the delay in payment."

Harry inwardly rolled his eyes, before he spoke up, slowly. "Excuse me, sir, but why exactly can his school fees only be paid by Christmas? I am sure the goblins at Gringotts would help Mr. and Mrs. Weasley out in such a case."

While Dumbledore was still considering how to reply without giving himself out in front of everyone, McGonagall spoke on his behalf. "Professor Dumbledore promised them to pay the fees for Ronald, however, he got himself into discredit with the goblins and won't be able to provide the money earlier than Christmas."

"Oh, I see," Harry replied, inwardly grinning, as he glared at the headmaster. "Well, since none of this is Ronald's fault, I believe that the Sorting Hat should sort him. If the fees haven't been paid by Christmas, I'm sure that Hogwarts herself will see fit to punish the responsible persons adequately."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Potter, for not holding grudges against my son," Mr. Weasley spoke up, sounding extremely relieved, while his wife rose from her chair and tried to hug Harry - an attempt that failed miserably, as Harry escaped from under her arms and crossed the room in a fast speed.

"Molly!" Mr. Weasley immediately scolded his wife. "Leave Mr. Potter in peace. You've already done enough harm."

Harry just kept quiet, patiently petting Fawkes' crown feathers, as he waited for the permission to leave the headmaster's office.

It was the deputy headmistress who finally did him the favour. "Thank you very much, Mr. Potter," she said, gently. "You may leave now or remain for Ronald's Sorting. It's up to you."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied, smiling at the Scottish lioness, before he promised Fawkes to visit him again and left, resolving to meet with Fawkes for a flight around the lake at the first opportunity. _'I wonder if he'll come if I call him,'_ he thought, as he walked to the Great Hall, knowing that dinner was going to commence any minute now.

HP

From the Hufflepuff table, Harry observed how a thoroughly annoyed looking Ronald Weasley followed the professors into the Great Hall and took a seat at the far end of the Slytherin table, away from all the other first-years.

 _'Slytherin? He who even complained sitting next to a Slytherin in class?'_ Harry thought in surprise, causing his wife to cast him an amused look.

HP

After dinner, all the first-years, except for Ronald Weasley, who was unaware of the matter, met at the Ravenclaw table and under the watchful eyes of their heads of house left the Great Hall together, heading to the Room of Requirement.

In front of the wall, Harry wished for a new, bigger study room with always five seats together in one group as well as a comfortable corner for talking and playing, before he advised his classmates to include at least one member of each house in their group if possible.

To Harry's and Hermione's surprise and delight, their classmates complied, and only when everyone was seated, they slipped into the empty seats that Neville and Susan had kept for them.

Unaware of the fact that their older housemates were wondering where the first-years were spending the evening, the whole class remained in their new study room, doing homework, talking and playing Wizard's Chess with each other until they had to return to their houses on time for curfew.

HP

In the morning, Harry and Hermione were the first of their class to enter the Great Hall for breakfast. They took their seats at the Gryffindor table, from where they observed, smiling, how the other first-years appeared in the Great Hall together with their classmates, instead of arriving alone or in pairs like their older housemates.

"It's amazing how the first-years seem to stick together," Harry heard McGonagall say to her colleagues, sounding truly impressed by the fact.

Harry was just about to think his opinion to Hermione, when the post owls swarmed into the Great Hall and an old barn owl landed on the table in front of him with one foot in his meal, scattering cornflakes everywhere.

Shaking his head in annoyance, Harry took the offered parchment from the owl and offered her a piece of bacon, before he unfolded the letter. 'It's from Mrs. Bones,' he telepathically informed his wife.

 _'Dear Mr. Potter,  
I am very glad to be able to inform you that our employees of the Department of Magical Mysteries have been able to capture Peter Pettigrew alive - thanks to the invaluable information which you provided.  
Mr. Sirius Black will have a trial tomorrow morning, to which I would like to invite you. I have sent an owl to Professor McGonagall as the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts and asked her to excuse you from classes tomorrow and allow you to use her fireplace to travel to the Ministry of Magic. Please come to my office at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning.  
I am looking forward to meeting you!  
Best regards  
Amelia Bones'_

Handing the letter to his wife, Harry turned his eyes towards the high table, from where Professor McGonagall cast him a reassuring look, nodding in confirmation.

'My godfather is going to have a trial tomorrow, how cool is that?' he thought to Hermione, who cast him a genuine smile.

'Let's write to my parents. Maybe he'll need help,' she thought back. 'They'll surely be willing to return to Potter Manor to help him get adjusted to normal life again.'

'Let's apparate to your parents' home and speak with them tonight. That's better than to just write a letter,' Harry replied, causing her to nod in agreement.

HP

It was not before curfew that Harry and Hermione had the opportunity to secretly leave Hogwarts. All of their classmates seemed to like the idea of spending their time together in Harry's study room instead of their own common rooms, especially since most of them by now had made friends with students from other houses, and Harry and Hermione did not want to be missed by the others.

"All right dear, let's leave. We can apparate right into the living room," Hermione instructed Harry, once they had returned to their rooms.

"Maybe we should inform Helena, so that she can cover up for us just in case anyone is looking for us," Harry contradicted, before he called out to the ghost, knowing that she usually spent the evenings in her parents' quarters, which were magically connected to Helga's and Salazar's.

"Don't worry, I'll tell them you were asleep," Helena promised, grinning. "Have fun."

"Mione, shouldn't we transform into our phoenix forms and flash?" Harry suddenly asked. "Your parents will probably be less shocked if we arrive as birds than in our human forms."

Seeing Hermione transform into her phoenix form and flash away in spite of responding, Harry followed her example and concentrated on Emma's and Dan's living room in their Muggle residence. However, when he arrived at his destination, the room was laying in the dark, and he could not sense any other being except for his wife nearby.

They both transformed back into their human forms, and Hermione switched on the lights. "Mum, Dad," she called out, before she headed into the adjacent kitchen.

"They're not here," she said, seemingly distressed. "It doesn't even look as if they had been here recently."

Harry gently laid his arm around her back. "Don't worry, love. Maybe they're still at Potter Manor," he said in a soft voice. "Let's just apparate this time." With that, he firmly gripped her hand, before they both apparated to Potter Manor.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	11. Chapter 11

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

Harry and Hermione found Emma and Dan sitting in the dining room, deeply engrossed in a conversation with Lily and James.

"Hermione, Harry!" Dan was the first to notice the children. "What happened? Did they already kick you out of Hogwarts?"

"Dad!" Hermione scolded him, playfully. "No, we just came to inform you that Harry's godfather is going to have a trial tomorrow and wanted to ask you to help him adjust to normal life after his ten-year stay at the wizarding prison."

"Of course we'll be here for him," Emma replied, gently.

"Will you be able to attend the trial?" James queried, only to add, "I can't wait having Sirius here. You could also invite Remus here, provided that the Grangers don't mind, because he's a werewolf. He was our other best friend though."

"Of course we don't mind having your friends here," Emma confirmed, smiling.

"We're just very happy to be here, too, which is why we're still lingering around, although we originally intended to return to our own house after the children left for school," Dan added, grinning.

"A werewolf?" Harry replied, grinning broadly. "Does this place have a potions lab? If so, I can easily cure him from lycanthropy."

"You WHAT?" Lily and James blurted out, simultaneously.

"Harry received the Order of Merlin in the past for inventing the wolvescure together with Salazar Slytherin," Hermione informed her parents-in-law. "The problem is that it's after curfew already and we don't have much time."

"No problem dear, if necessary, I could just make a time Portkey that takes us back a few hours," Harry reassured her. "The only problem is how to get Remus here as fast as possible. Shall I write to him and deliver the letter myself in my phoenix form?"

"The next full moon is in ten days," Hermione informed him, as she slid her wand back into her robe pocket. "So there's time enough to cure him until then."

"All right," Harry agreed and hurried to scribble a letter to his parents' friend.

 _'Dear Remus,  
Sirius will have a trial tomorrow and should be free and be going to live at Potter Manor together with my best friend's parents. My parents suggested to invite you to join them, and I can promise to cure you from lycanthropy. If you're interested to come, please tell the phoenix who is delivering this message, and he'll take you here.  
I hope to see you soon!  
Harry Potter'_

"It's somehow strange to write as if he was a friend, although I've never met him," Harry said, before he transformed into his phoenix form and flashed away, thinking, _'Remus, my parents' best friend.'_

HP

Harry arrived in a small room in what seemed to be an old, shabby building. A man of about the age of Emma and Dan was sitting in the only chair at a wooden desk, engrossed in an old tome. He looked up in confusion, when the wind phoenix flashed into his room, a small gust of wind accompanying him.

Harry let out a comforting trill, before he held out his right foot, inviting Remus to take the attached letter.

"Who would write to me?" Remus wondered aloud, causing Harry to smile. The werewolf slowly unfolded the parchment and read the message, his expression unreadable.

"Is this a joke?" he finally spoke up, looking at Harry, who shook his head.

"Can you understand me?" Remus asked in apparent surprise.

Harry nodded.

"If you can understand me, it means that you're most likely an Animagus and not a real phoenix I suppose. Would you please be so kind and transform back?" the older wizard demanded, giving him a sharp look.

Harry nodded, before he obediently changed back into his human form. "Hello Remus, I'm sorry, I don't know your surname," he apologized and hurriedly explained everything from attending Hogwarts in the past, marrying Hermione, inventing the wolvescure and finally being de-aged and coming to live at Potter Manor before once again attending Hogwarts in this time.

Remus stared at a younger version of his once best friend in disbelief. "I'm sorry, Harry," he finally spoke up. "This all sounds so unbelievable, and we haven't met before, so I can't even ask you a question to make sure that you're really you."

"I can swear you a wizard's oath that I'm me," Harry offered, wondering what had made the man so suspicious.

"No, it's all right," Remus replied, casting Harry a small smile. "I'll just believe you, and yes, I'd love to accompany you to Potter Manor. Let me just fetch a few belongings to take with me."

"Have you been to Potter Manor before?" Harry remembered to ask before transforming.

"When your parents were still alive, yes," Remus confirmed.

"Then the wards will let you in," Harry stated, contentedly. "Let's go then. Please grab my tail feathers." With that he changed back into his phoenix form and flashed, as soon as he felt Remus hold on to his tail feathers.

HP

Only when they arrived right in the dining room of Potter Manor, Harry suddenly felt how tired he was. After introducing Remus to Emma and Dan, he thought to his wife, 'Do you think we can just leave them? I'd love to get some sleep.'

'Of course we can, especially since Lily and James are here and my parents will surely go to bed soon, too,' Hermione thought back, before she spoke up. "Would you mind us returning to Hogwarts to get some sleep?"

Everyone immediately agreed, and Harry and Hermione promised to come back on the following day, after curfew if they were unable to get away earlier.

HP

Back in their own rooms at Hogwarts, Harry went straight to bed and appeared more quiet than usual, making Hermione wonder what the problem might be. She got ready for bed and lay next to her husband, snuggling into his side, before she asked in a small voice, "Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry let out a long sigh. "I failed them all," he blurted out. "My godfather was stuck in Azkaban, and my parents' other best friend was left all by himself, living in a barrack."

"No Harry, you did not fail them," Hermione replied in a soft voice. "What could you have done? You were only a baby. It was Dumbledore who failed them all, he and Voldemort. When did you hear Remus' name for the first time? An hour ago? And now he's already living at Potter Manor and is going to be cured from his illness during the next ten days. Sirius is going to have a trial tomorrow, just about a month after you heard about him. I can hardly call that failed."

HP

When Hermione woke up in the morning, Harry was nowhere to be seen. _'I wonder where he went,'_ she thought, as she readied herself for the day and studied their time table.

"I'm sorry dear, I just had to go and brew the wolvescure for Remus. He was so uncertain and suspicious, I couldn't leave him like that. We'll have to go to the manor and cure him as soon as possible," Harry explained, when he finally showed up through the connecting door leading to Salazar's potions lab, showing his wife a small phial.

"That's fine, love. It's obvious that you couldn't have him suffer longer than necessary, otherwise you wouldn't be you," Hermione replied, giving him a loving look. "Maybe we still have time to go to see him after the trial. We're going to miss our first Defence class as well as the Flying class today by the way," she then informed him.

"Oh no," Harry replied, groaning. "That reminds me that we have to do something about Professor Quirrell. He's the one who's possessed by Voldemort."

"Yes, we should attack him as soon as possible," Hermione agreed, before they left for the Great Hall.

HP

Seeing that Draco and Millicent were already sitting at the Slytherin table, Harry and Hermione joined their friends and informed them that they were going to miss classes because of attending Harry's godfather's trial.

"Do you have the headmaster's approval?" Snape drawled, causing Harry to turn around in shock.

'I didn't even see him come,' he thought to his wife. 'Why does he have to sneak up on us?'

"We have Professor McGonagall's permission," Hermione informed the professor, before she continued eating her breakfast, thinking to Harry, 'Does she know that I'm going to accompany you?'

'Yes, I've informed her and asked for permission yesterday, while you were engrossed in your conversation with Susan,' Harry replied, smirking.

A minute later, the headmaster called Harry over. Inwardly groaning, Harry glanced at Hermione and grudgingly made his way to the high table, closely followed by his wife.

HP

"Mr. Potter, you might not know this, but I am not only the headmaster here, but also your guardian in the magical world," Dumbledore spoke up in his grandfatherly voice. "Therefore..."

"No sir," Harry interrupted the old wizard in a firm voice. "You're neither my guardian nor Hermione's. A goblin is our guardian in the magical world, and Professor McGonagall is the deputy headmistress and as such entitled to allow us to miss classes in order to attend my godfather's trial. Who was only in Azkaban because you explicitly ignored my parents' will," he added, sharply. Glancing at his wrist watch, he continued, "If you will excuse us now, we need to leave."

With that he took Hermione's hand and apparated them out of the Great Hall, leaving everyone to stare at the now empty spot in disbelief.

HP

An instant later, they found themselves right in front of Madam Bones' door in the Ministry of Magic.

"Did you want everyone to know that we can apparate out of Hogwarts?" Hermione whispered, incredulously.

"No," Harry replied, inwardly groaning as realisation set in. "I'm sorry, I was just so upset about Dumbledore that I had to leave so as not to verbally attack the old coot."

Hermione nodded. "Oh well, that's understandable," she admitted, sighing. Receiving a nod from her husband, she knocked at the door, which was opened after a few seconds.

"Mr. Potter," Madam Bones greeted them, smiling friendly. "I'm glad to finally get to know you."

"Same here, Madam," Harry replied, uncertain how to introduce Hermione. "Excuse me, Madam, but could you swear a witch's oath to keep for yourself what I tell you now?"

The head of the DLME cast Harry a surprised look, before she pulled her wand and swore her oath.

"Thank you, Madam," Harry said, contentedly. "This is my wife, Hermione Potter," he introduced Hermione, before he told the witch about their stay in the time of the founders. "I just thought it would be better if you knew the truth in case you noticed that we might behave differently from normal eleven-year-olds," he added, when he finished his explanation.

"Yes, indeed," Madam Bones replied, seemingly stunned at the unexpected information. "Well, your wedding rings are certainly proof that you married in the middle ages, as we don't have such beautiful colours anymore in our time," she then said, smiling at the young couple. "If you ever wish to skip any of your core classes, please come to me with your OWL or NEWT certificate from the past. I will then ask the Minister to accept them for this time, so that you don't have to take them again."

"Thank you so much, Madam," Harry was the first to reply.

"Yes, that's a great reassurance," Hermione agreed. "So far, we like all of our classes, all the teachers as well as our classmates of all houses are just brilliant."

"I'm glad to hear that," Bones replied, smiling. "You might know my niece, Susan. She's a first-year as well."

"We know Susan," Hermione assured the older witch, "and we've already become friends with her."

"There might be one thing that we perhaps need help with," Harry spoke up, pensively. "I'm going to tell you this, since you're the only person apart from Professor McGonagall, Hermione's parents and Buckbean to know about our time in the past." Seeing Madam Bones look at him in expectation, he explained, "One of my parents' best friends is a werewolf, and I am going to cure him from lycanthropy, however, he'll probably need someone to recognise him as free of lycanthropy." He cast the older witch a questioning look.

Madam Bones remained thoughtful for a moment, before she replied, "Only a healer can issue such a certificate, however, I'll surely be able to introduce you to the head healer of St. Mungo's. However," she emphasized, "if the head healer or any healer at all gets to know that there's a cure for lycanthropy, you won't have a quiet minute for years, as the whole magical world will pester you to brew the potion and cure the werewolves."

"I've already done so in the past," Harry replied, smiling.

"The only problem might be that you're not a potions master and therefore not entitled to administer potions," Madam Bones said, thoughtfully, before she glanced at the time display on the wall and interrupted herself, "I promise to help you with this. Just contact me later on. The trial is going to commence in fifteen minutes, so that we urgently have to leave for the court room. Mr. Potter, would you be willing to act as a witness, considering that you're in the possession of your parents' will?"

"Of course," Harry agreed immediately, pointing out that he was carrying a copy of the will in his robe pocket.

 _'Maybe I can make a deal with Snape,'_ Harry thought. _'He's a potions master, and perhaps he'd be willing to assist, considering that he'd surely receive the Order of Merlin for curing werewolves in this time. I can't understand how such an important potion could get lost over the years.'_

HP

Harry was brought out of his musings, when they entered the courtroom, which was a very large room that was full with people.

"So many people?" he blurted out in shock.

"Yes," Madam Bones replied, giving him a pitying look. "Many want to see the Potters' Secret Keeper punished for what he did. They were very well-liked people in our society and Lord and Lady of one of the old pureblood houses."

"And it's only Dumbledore's fault that my godfather had to rot in Azkaban until now," Harry replied, angrily. "He should be dealt with as well."

By now they had reached their destination, and Amelia Bones introduced them to a young witch with pink hair. "This is Nymphadora Tonks, my youngest Auror. She's also a cousin of Sirius Black, and she'll remain here together with you during the trial, while I, unfortunately, have my own position to take."

"Of course Madam Bones, thank you so much for everything," Hermione replied, smiling.

"Thank you Madam Bones, and I'll contact you later on," Harry added, before he lowered himself into the seat next to the Auror, whose hair had in the meantime changed to a bright green.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	12. Chapter 12

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

The trial was a quick and easy affair. Sirius Black was questioned under Veritaserum, and it became clear that he had neither been the Potters' Secret Keeper nor killed thirteen Muggles along with Peter Pettigrew, and after a thirty-minute break, the verdict was announced. Sirius Black was a free man. He received one million galleons as compensation for a mistake that the Ministry of Magic had made ten years ago and was offered his former position as an Auror at the Ministry - after a break to get used to normal life again for up to a year.

Harry could not believe his luck when his godfather came to sit between him and Tonks, pulling him into a bear's hug.

"Harry," he squealed, happily. "Only the thought of you kept me sane at that hellhole. I'm sorry, godson, that it took me so long to get out of there."

"It's Dumbledore's fault," Harry replied in a quiet voice. "He knew that you were innocent and supposed to raise me. I wished we could get a trial for him, too."

"We will," Sirius said in a firm voice, "eventually. And now I believe it's time that you introduce your nice lady to me, isn't it? You're mighty young to have a girlfriend though."

 _'He really seems nice,'_ Harry thought, _'although he's dirty and probably needs a warm meal and a good night's sleep.'_

HP

Before Harry could explain anything to his godfather, Amelia Bones approached the small group and asked, "Mr. Black, do you have anywhere to go?"

"Potter Manor," Harry supplied in a firm voice. "I'm going to take him there right away."

Madam Bones nodded in concurrence. "Mr. Potter, perhaps you could ask Healer Pomfrey from Hogwarts over. I don't know if you've met her already, but she's a very kind lady and will definitely keep your secret, as she's bound to her healer's oath. She will be able to help Mr. Black, who seems to be in dire need of some potions, and also Mr. Lupin."

"Thank you, Madam. I'll do so then," Harry replied, gratefully.

"If you have any problems, please contact me," the friendly witch said, before she left, smiling.

HP

"Grab my tail feathers," Harry instructed Sirius before he transformed together with Hermione, and an instant later, the three found themselves in the dining room of Potter Manor, where Sirius was immediately pulled into a bear's hug by Remus.

"Slowly Moony," Sirius said, chuckling, as he freed himself from the embrace.

Harry observed the two older wizard's interaction with amazement. _'My parents' best friends,_ ' he thought, feeling extremely happy.

"I'm sorry Padfoot, I totally failed you," Remus replied, sadly. "I should have known that you would have never given them out, but I also trusted Peter full-heartedly."

"I know Moony, I know," Sirius replied. "We all did." Turning to his godson, he added, "Harry, I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me."

Harry merely nodded, teary-eyed. "I just wished I had known earlier," he added, allowing himself to be pulled into his wife's hug. "This is my wife, Hermione, by the way," he explained to his godfather, trying to hide a grin at the older wizard's puzzled expression.

"You're eleven, or did time in Azkaban pass slower than in the rest of the world?" Sirius enquired, causing Harry and Hermione to smile.

"Before telling you everything now, let me call Healer Pomfrey, and then we can tell both of you at the same time," Harry decided. "We also need her help to clear Remus from lycanthropy." Reaching into his inner robe pocket, he handed the werewolf a small phial.

It was labelled _'The wolvescure, by Harry Potter, September 4, 1991'._

"Is that really..." Remus trailed off, unable to fight back his tears.

"Yes," Harry replied, smiling, before he left the dining room, which had become the centre of Potter Manor for them due to the presence of Lily and James in their portrait.

HP

Two minutes later, Harry returned with the healer in tow. Pomfrey shook her head upon spotting Sirius. "You should have told someone about the change of the Secret Keeper," she scolded him lightly.

"My parents couldn't know that Albus Dumbledore would betray them in such a way," Harry threw in, sharply. "He was the only one who could have known, as only he had access to my parents' will."

"Exactly," Hermione agreed, before she added, "Harry, you better tell Healer Pomfrey and Sirius the whole story."

Harry complied and, after motioning everyone to take a seat and have some tea, which popped up on the table that very instant, informed the healer and his godfather about his and Hermione's past.

"Why we called you here today is not only because Sirius clearly needs your expertise," he finally told the healer, "but also Remus would like to ask you for a favour."

Apparently realising that the healer gave him a sharp look, Remus showed her the phial, which he was still turning around in his hands in clear amazement. "Together with Professor Slytherin, Harry has invented a cure for lycanthropy. He already brewed it for me, and I'd like to ask you if you can check on me after I take it and if possible give me a clear pass."

"Of course I'll do so," Pomfrey replied, seemingly thrilled. Turning to Harry, she enquired, "Does the potion have any negative side effects?"

Harry remained thoughtful for an instant, before he replied, "As far as I know, it doesn't have any. However, I returned to the future just a few weeks after curing the last known werewolves in the past, so I don't know about any possible long-time effects. From the ingredients, however, it's quite unlikely that there are any."

Pomfrey nodded, seemingly contented. "Well Remus, are you willing to take the potion?"

"Of course," the wizard in question replied and, after receiving encouraging nods from Harry and Hermione, uncorked the phial and gulped down the light yellow potion. He then stood in front of the healer, staring at the kind, old witch in clear expectation.

Pomfrey seemed equally excited, as she pulled her wand and waved it over the young wizard, whom she had known all too well since he had been an eleven-year-old. After a minute of casting multiple kinds of diagnostic spells on him, she finally spoke up. "Congratulations, Mr. Lupin. I can't find any trace of lycanthropy anymore."

Everyone observed, smiling, how Remus and Sirius hugged each other in clear happiness, before Pomfrey finally interrupted the silence and instructed Sirius to lead her into his room. Confirming with James in his portrait that he could still use his old room, Sirius complied.

"Oh well, I guess we need to return to Hogwarts," Harry spoke up, turning to Hermione. "Shall we apparate straight into our rooms?" he enquired, and after promising to visit again as soon as possible, the two eleven-year-olds left.

HP

Glancing at her wrist watch, Hermione informed Harry that the Flying class was just half over, before she suggested spending some time in the library.

"Which library?" Harry asked in amusement, making his wife roll her eyes. "Oh well, Hogwarts' for a change," she replied, already making a bee-line for the door.

It was two hours later, when Harry and Hermione had just taken their seats at the Gryffindor table, that a school owl scooped down onto the table holding out a letter to Harry.

HP

 _'Dear Mr. Potter,  
Congratulations to the wolvescure potion! Have you ever thought of healing other werewolves in this time? I know for a fact that your and Professor Slytherin's potion's recipe has been lost over time and potions masters have unsuccessfully searched for a cure over hundreds of years. I understand that you are only a first-year in this time and not a potions master and have classes to attend. However, since you clearly possess the knowledge and the ability to brew the potion, maybe there will be a way.  
I'd advise you to speak with Professor Snape. He'll surely be thrilled to help you.  
This is just my advice, but I'd like to ask you to consider finding a way to help the people in this time like you cured Remus Lupin. I have known him since he came to Hogwarts as an eleven-year-old, and I know how much he has been suffering all his life because of his condition.  
If you ever have questions, I'll be here for you.  
Poppy Pomfrey'_

Inwardly groaning, Harry handed the letter to his wife.

'The problem is that we don't know how far we can trust Professor Snape,' Hermione thought back. 'Maybe you should ask Professor McGonagall for an advice.'

'Right now, I don't want to do anything but be just a normal first-year,' Harry decided. 'Where was everyone, when I was left to rot with the Dursleys? And I still had to come back to this time to fight Voldemort.'

'That's true,' Hermione fully agreed, before she turned to Neville and asked what they had missed during classes.

"Ah nothing really," Neville replied, sounding annoyed. "The Defence Against the Dark Arts professor stutters badly, so it's really hard to follow his explanations, and Flying class was just horrible. I couldn't get the broom back down and ended up braking my wrist, but Draco and Dean went with me to the hospital wing, and my wrist is already healed. I don't think I want to ever try flying again."

"I don't like flying either," Hermione said, soothingly. "Harry's very good at it though."

HP

After dinner, Harry and Hermione followed their classmates, feeling very happy that the first-years automatically headed to the Room of Requirement together, where they wished for 'Harry's study room'. Like during the previous evening, they spent their time together studying and playing, before they all had to return to their houses.

"Ronald was not with us in the study room," Harry said to Hermione later on. "I wonder if he prefers being all alone in the Slytherin common room with the older students."

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe he meets with his brothers somewhere, because he dislikes Slytherin too much. I don't know, but I really don't care. He should have noticed by now that all other first-years stick together and spend their time studying together. I wonder if he studies at all."

When Ronald was also missing from breakfast in the morning, Harry asked Draco, who was sitting on Hermione's other side about the redhead, causing Draco to chuckle.

"He's so thick you won't believe it," Draco replied and began to explain what their head of house had told them when he came into the common room after curfew the previous evening.

Apparently sick of being in Slytherin, Ronald had put up a fight with the portrait of the Fat Lady at the entrance door to the Gryffindor common room, stating that all his siblings were in Gryffindor and that she had to led him in, so that he could speak with his brothers. Of course, the Fat Lady had not given in and had called Peaves, the poltergeist, who had fought back on her behalf when Ron chose to attack her with his fists, causing the boy to end up in the hospital wing.

"Serves him right," Hermione replied, shrugging. "What a jerk."

HP

Knowing from Rowena's visions, which they had studied together in the past, that he had time to get rid of Voldemort's spirit that was possessing Quirrell, Harry decided to tend to the matter after Hermione's birthday.

During the week before her birthday, he spent some time during the night when his wife was asleep planning the event. One evening, when Susan efficiently distracted Hermione by asking her for help with her potions homework, Harry quickly excused himself and left the room. He apparated right in front of Professor McGonagall's office and spent five minutes discussing the matter about his wife's birthday with the professor, who was like an unofficial head of house to the Potters.

McGonagall immediately agreed with his suggestions and did not only promise to invite the other heads of the houses but also to ask her house-elf, Malcolm, to work together with Harry's elf Gina to provide the party with all necessities.

 _'Now I only need a present,'_ Harry thought, making sure to keep his Occlumency wards up, which he always used while planning her birthday, so that she would not be able to know everything in advance just because of being able to know his thoughts. However, since he spent all the time together with his wife, except for when she was asleep and wouldn't miss him right away, it was not easy to unobtrusively buy anything. Finally, he apparated to Potter Manor and asked his enlarged family, consisting of his parents in their portrait, Emma and Dan Granger as well as Sirius and Remus, for help.

"I have an idea, but that's what I'm going to give her," Sirius was the first to reply, grinning, as he stated, "Since she's my godson's wife, it makes her my goddaughter, and I have just the right present. She'll get it in the morning of her birthday."

As much as Harry and James tried to make Sirius spill out his secret, the Marauder remained firm, and Lily efficiently diverted the topic by suggesting that Harry should apparate to Gringotts and check their vault for a piece of jewellery that Hermione might like.

"Oh Mum, that's a wonderful idea," Harry replied, gratefully, before he apparated on the spot.

When he returned ten minutes later, no one of his family could have guessed that he had in fact spent three hours in his parents' vault only to return with some jewellery in his robe pocket and a three-hour time travel Portkey.

"I just wanted to say good night," he told his family, yawning. Allowing Sirius and Emma to pull him into hugs, he returned to Hogwarts and went straight to bed, feeling exhausted but very relieved to not only have found a birthday present for his wife but also items for Christmas and some other occasions. He had also brought his mother's diary, which he had found in the vault among several other interesting looking books.

HP

Hermione's birthday was a Saturday, and the Potters decided to have breakfast together with Susan at the Hufflepuff table. Unbeknownst to Hermione, Harry and the other first-years had decided to appear for breakfast first thing in the morning, when most of the older students would still be asleep. Therefore, that the whole first-year class except for Ronald Weasley, who could not be bothered to get up early, joined the birthday girl at the Hufflepuff table - to the apparent surprise of the occupants of the high table.

Harry curiously eyed the owl who brought a medium size package for Hermione. _'From Sirius,'_ he thought. _'I wonder what his surprise present is.'_

When Hermione curiously opened the present, she found a mirror, causing her to give Harry a questioning look.

"I know what it is," Neville blurted out in apparent amazement. "It's a two-way mirror, means you'll be able to communicate with the owner of its equivalent through the mirror."

Hermione glanced at the attached card, which said, _'Happy Birthday, goddaughter. To speak with me or your parents, just say my name into the mirror.'_

An instant later, Harry and Hermione were eagerly talking to en equally excited group of Marauders and parents.

 _'This is amazing,'_ Harry thought, when Hermione showed her parents the broach that she had received from Harry first thing in the morning. It was a family heirloom of the Potter family and held a pattern of a white phoenix, one of the symbols of the Potter family, and Harry had been certain that Hermione would be very excited about it.

 _'That mirror is a great present,'_ he thought, smiling, before he was brought back to reality when upset voices coming from the high table penetrated his ears.

"What does it mean all the heads of the houses won't be present for dinner?" Dumbledore queried in a stern voice.

"We've been invited to Hermione Potter's birthday party and have accepted the invitation," McGonagall replied in obvious annoyance. "Considering that the complete first-year class will be present at the party as well, I'm sure the remaining professors will be able to supervise the older students' dinner."

Harry realised that Dumbledore seemed to be clearly upset about the matter. _'Probably not because the professors will miss dinner, but because he didn't know about the party let alone being invited to it,_ ' he thought, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	13. Chapter 13

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

The first-years spent most of the day in their secret room on the seventh floor. Only at dinner time, Harry motioned everyone to leave and wait a moment outside the room.

"Harry, what are we doing here?" Hermione enquired, curiously. "We need to leave for the Great Hall. Dinner is going to commence any minute now."

Harry gently laid his arm around her back. "No my dear, we're going to have a special dinner here tonight," he informed her, smiling when the professors joined the group just when he opened the door to the party room that he had made earlier.

"Oh Harry," Hermione blurted out, seemingly speechless, as she entered the room. It was divided into three parts similar to the room, which Rowena had used before. One part of the room was occupied by a swimming pool, the opposite side by a huge dining table, while the centre of the room was completely empty.

"This is amazing," Professor Flitwick was the first to find words. "Does everyone has their swimming suits with them, or do we have to transfigure all your clothes?"

Everyone chuckled, before they turned around to give Harry questioning looks.

"Do you see the golden portal over there?" he asked, grinning, before he explained that one just had to walk through the portal to have their clothes transfigured and walk back to get dried and back into their normal clothes.

"As appealing as it seems, I suggest that we have dinner first though. I'm hungry," Hermione said aloud what most of the first-years thought, and everyone readily agreed, and as soon as the birthday girl took her seat, dinner popped up on the tables causing multiple ahhhs and ohhhs to be heard throughout the room.

It was not only that the food looked absolutely delicious, but it was also arranged in a beautiful way. Noticing Hermione's questioning look, Harry admitted that it was a common project of the Potter elves and the Hogwarts elves.

"Malcolm," Harry called McGonagall's personal elf and instructed him to tell the other Hogwarts elves that they had done an amazing job. "Please thank them all on my behalf," he said, smiling.

"Yes Harry," Malcolm replied and popped away.

"Excuse me Mr. Potter, have you told Malcolm to just call you Harry instead of Master Harry or Mr. Potter?" McGonagall asked, apparently wondering if she had to scold her elf for being disrespectful.

"Yes Professor, I asked him to not call me Master and to not bow," Harry informed the professor, who nodded, seemingly contented.

HP

Since they could not go swimming right after an opulent meal, everyone curiously turned to the empty area.

"What are we supposed to do here?" Ronald Weasley, whom Draco had personally invited to Hermione's birthday party, spoke up.

"We could play Quidditch," Draco suggested, causing half of their classmates to cheer.

"Gina," Harry called the head house-elf from Potter Manor.

The small elf smiled at her master, and with a snip of her finger, the empty area of the room was divided into a small Quidditch pitch, a couple of tables with Wizard's chess sets set up on them and a reading corner with comfortable looking sofas and a small bookshelf. A table with a huge pile of presents appeared right next to the bookshelf.

"Thank you so much, Gina," Harry said, contentedly, before he invited everyone to enjoy themselves.

HP

Intending to join Hermione in unwrapping her presents, Harry walked over to the bookshelf corner, however, his wife kept him back and insisted that he should go flying together with the others.

"I know that you love to fly, and I don't mind you playing Quidditch for a while," she told him in a firm voice, giving Draco a pointed look.

"Very well then, let's play Quidditch," Draco shouted and announced that he was going to be captain of the one team and Harry of the other.

Quirking an eyebrow in surprise, Harry walked over to the Quidditch pitch, glad that Gina had equipped the area with a portal similar to the one in front of the swimming pool, so that he automatically appeared in Quidditch garments with a broom in his hand once he passed the portal.

"Let's choose a team," Draco suggested. "You begin. I'm going to play Seeker for the green team."

"I'm going to play Seeker for the white team then," Harry added. He glanced over the classmates and teachers who had volunteered to play. _'Just enough for two teams,'_ he realised and called out, "Professor McGonagall as Chaser."

"Blaise as Chaser," Draco followed, and within two minutes, the two teams were ready to play.

Professors Snape and Flitwick offered to referee the game, and Harry's first Quidditch match in the future began. _'I hope the rules haven't been changed since our time in the past,'_ he thought, as he took into the air eagerly beginning to look for the golden Snitch.

To everyone's surprise, the match was over in mere five minutes, when Harry wrapped his fingers around the fleeing little ball and handed it to the Potions Master, who announced that the white team and won and once again released the Snitch.

HP

One hour and five victories of the white team over the green team later, the whole group headed towards the pool, and soon the whole room was filled with the sounds of splashing water and laughter.

'This was a wonderful birthday party,' Hermione thought to her husband, when everyone returned to the dinner table, on which cake and hot chocolate popped up, as soon as she sat down.

'I'm glad everything worked out,' Harry replied, smiling at his wife, when Professor McGonagall suddenly addressed him from opposite the table.

"Mr. Potter, would you be willing to play reserve Seeker for the house Quidditch teams?"

Harry stared at the Gryffindor head in shock. "I'd love to play Quidditch, but I don't belong to a house," he replied in a firm voice.

"I know that, otherwise I'd immediately introduce you to Oliver Wood and make you the Gryffindor team's Seeker," McGonagall clarified, grinning. "However, sometimes, a player is ill or for some other reason unable to play. Would you be willing to play Seeker for any of the teams in such a case?"

Harry looked unsurely at the professor, not sure if he wanted to play for or against any of the house teams at all.

"Slytherin would appreciate a good Seeker as well," Snape spoke up in a soft, baritone voice, while Hermione gave her husband a nudge.

"Do it, Harry," she said, reassuringly.

"All right then," Harry finally relented, and McGonagall agreed with her three colleagues that any house which was missing a player for their game was entitled to ask Harry to play Seeker for them. 'Dumbledore will be pissed off that they didn't even ask him,' Harry thought, 'especially as I'm a first-year and first-years aren't allowed to play on the house teams.'

HP

"That was an amazing day," Hermione said, when she and Harry walked back to the founders' quarters at curfew. "Thank you so very much for everything."

"It was my pleasure," Harry replied, before he pressed a small item that found itself in his robe pocket into her hand.

"The cork of a potions phial?" Hermione queried, eyeing the small item in clear confusion.

HP

"It's your ticket to your second birthday party," Harry replied, as he touched the cork and said, "Potter party" to activate the Portkey, which took them three hours back in time and right to the dining room of Potter Manor.

Before Hermione realised what was happening, she found herself being pulled into a birthday hug by her mother, followed by her father, Sirius and Remus.

Since Harry had arranged with his parents-in-law and his godfather that Hermione and he would only arrive after dinner, everyone headed straight to the playroom after finishing their congratulations to the birthday girl.

To Harry's surprise, a life size portrait of Godric and Rowena had been added to one side of the room, causing him to look at Sirius in confusion.

"Well, since the Gryffindor-Ravenclaws belong to the Potters' ancestors, their portrait was among the dozen others of your many time great grandparents, and I just asked the elves to add it to this room," Sirius explained, right before Lily and James slipped into the portrait together with the founders.

"Hermione and Harry," Rowena spoke up, seemingly happy to see them. "How are you faring? Is everything all right in the future?"

Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance, before they nodded. "Yes, thanks to your tutoring, we're doing great. We haven't done anything about Quirrell yet though," Harry replied, pensively, before he added, "Somehow, I'd like to see Dumbledore gone, but we haven't made a plan about him either."

"What in the world has he done to you?" Godric queried in apparent surprise. "He's the headmaster after all."

Hermione beat Harry to a reply. "He's a manipulating old coot," she said und explained about Dumbledore's misdeeds against Harry and Sirius in clear annoyance.

"Let's not ruin your birthday by thinking about the old coot," Harry said in a soft voice and gently led her to one of the small tables, on which a Wizard's chess set was put up. "Let's play," he said, smiling.

"What's this?" Hermione asked, incredulously, pointing to the piece in front of her.

Sirius chuckled. "It's a chocolate edition," he informed his goddaughter. "If you take a piece from Harry, you may eat it, and when you start a new round, the missing pieces will be replenished automatically."

Hermione grinned. "Has anyone by chance told you that my parents are dentists and not too fond of chocolate?" she asked, shaking her head. "But it looks interesting."

Harry knew that she did not overly like playing Wizard's chess, but noticing the chocolate edition, he had in fact hoped that she might take a liking to it.

HP

While Dan and Remus watched the news on the Muggle TV, Emma and Sirius observed the children play.

 _'Hermione really needs to practise more,'_ Emma thought, noticing how Harry devoured one of her pawns with apparent gusto. In fact, she and Dan had often played chess when Hermione had been smaller, however, the girl had never shown any special interest in the game, so that they had only taught her basic knowledge about the game but not played a lot with her.

"Knight to E5," she could not help voicing, knowing that this was the only option for Hermione to save her king.

"Thank you Mum, but it's all right, I don't mind Harry winning," Hermione said in apparent confusion, causing Harry to stare from her to her mother in clear surprise.

"I'm sorry," Emma said, quickly. "I just couldn't hold back."

"That's not a problem," Harry replied, seemingly pensive. "It's just that only magical people should be able to order chess pieces to move."

Emma stared at her children with a combination of amazement and disbelief. "No, that's not possible," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm a Muggle," she emphasized, smiling, thinking to herself, _'even if I wished that it was different.'_

"You must be a witch," Rowena spoke up from her portrait. "Harry is right."

"Here Mum," Hermione said, handing her wand out to her mother. "Try to say 'Lumos'."

When Emma complied, the tip of Hermione's wand lit up, not very bright, but it did.

"Congratulations Mum, you're a witch," Hermione said, smiling broadly.

Sirius and Remus immediately offered to teach Emma magic during her free time, and Emma could not help being extremely happy at the prospect of being able to just become another step closer to Hermione's new world.

HP

"I still can't believe that Mum's a witch," Hermione spoke up, when Harry and she returned to their rooms on time for curfew.

"Yes, it's too cool to be true," Harry agreed. "She seemed to be very happy about it though, and Sirius and Remus will be delighted as it gives them something useful to do for a while."

"I'd love to speak with Professor McGonagall about the matter, but since no one must know that we went home tonight..." She slowly trailed off.

"That's true," Harry agreed. "But she doesn't have to know that we were the ones playing Wizard's chess. It could as well have been Sirius and Remus. On the other hand, we can as well wait until after Christmas before we tell her."

Hermione agreed and contentedly snuggled against her husband, as they went to sleep after a very long day.

HP

It was exactly a week later, on the first Hogsmeade day for the students from third year onwards, that Hermione and Harry headed to the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's office. During the last few days, they had made a plan, which they had thoroughly discussed with the four founders in their portraits as well as with Hogwarts. After changing their plan a couple of times, they now deemed it as fool proof.

Nevertheless, Harry was outright scared - not for himself, but he was frightened that anything could happen to his wife. _'I really shouldn't put her in danger like this,'_ he thought, feeling very uncomfortable at the idea. _'I should do it alone.'_

"Harry, everything will be all right," Hermione reassured him, apparently able to sense his dark thoughts, even if he had tried to pull up his Occlumency wards as strong as possible.

"If something happens that's not planned, just apparate back to our rooms," Harry instructed her in a no-nonsense voice, promising to do the same.

"Don't worry too much. Hogwarts will be able to prevent us from getting hurt too badly. Just concentrate on the task ahead," Hermione replied, coolly. "I think you should make yourself invisible now."

 _'Oh Merlin, I almost forgot,'_ Harry thought and instructed himself to calm down and concentrate, before he made himself invisible like the founders had taught him to do.

"All right, now make yourself visible to me," Hermione demanded and, seeing that he complied, nodded contentedly, before she knocked at the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's door.

To their relief, it did not take long, before Professor Quirrell opened the door, staring at the first-year in clear surprise.

"Good morning, Professor. I'm sorry to disturb you, but I have a question concerning the spell that you taught us yesterday," Hermione spoke up, making sure to linger long enough in the door frame to give Harry time to slip past her into the room.

"Of co... course, Miss P.. P... Potter," Quirrell replied and motioned her inside.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	14. Chapter 14

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

While Hermione wrapped the professor in a conversation about a shield spell, Harry made himself visible, knowing that he would have to show the memory to Dumbledore later on. He pulled his wand and cast the first spell. It was supposed to bring the possessing spirit to the front of Quirrell's mind. _'I just hope it worked,'_ Harry thought, trying to assess his success from the words coming out of Quirrell's mouth.

Finally, a harsh voice interrupted the professor's speech. "Kill the boy before he kills me. It's him," the voice hissed, causing Quirrell to look at Harry in confusion.

Harry hurriedly cast the second spell, which caused Quirrell to slump down onto the floor, seemingly unconscious, before a black cloud emerged from the back of his head.

"Now," Harry shouted to his wife, before they both pointed their wands at the cloud and together cast the third spell, putting as much magic into the spell as possible. The black cloud vibrated for a moment, before it hurried away through the window.

"Thank Merlin," Hermione spoke up, causing Harry to give her a questioning look.

"Do you think it really worked?" he asked, sceptically.

"I think so," Hermione said, smiling. "Did you see how the cloud was stopped in its movement and vibrated for a few seconds? I think that was when the other spirits from his Horcruxes reunited with his spirit. He should be just one single spirit now like Rowena told us."

"All right, let's take Quirrell to the hospital wing and then return to our rooms to show Rowena the memory," Harry replied in determination.

"Wait a moment," his wife instructed him, before she placed her hand against the wall. "Hogwarts, do you think that worked?"

"Yes I believe so my dear," the old castle replied in her gentle voice. "I don't know if that were all of his spirits that reunited though. Maybe Rowena will be able to tell you more."

'Thank Merlin that the founders removed the Horcrux from my head in the past,' Harry thought in relief, as he stared at the window through which Voldemort's spirit had vanished.

HP

Levitating Quirrell onto a stretcher, Harry and Hermione took the unconscious wizard to the hospital wing. Knowing that they did not want the headmaster to become involved if they could prevent it, Harry called Malcolm and asked him to tell Professor McGonagall that her presence was required in the hospital wing.

"I will send her," Malcolm confirmed, before he popped away.

To Harry's and Hermione's relief, McGonagall stepped just out of the fireplace in Pomfrey's office, when they reached the hospital wing and levitated the stretcher to the bed right next to the healer's office.

"What happened here?" Pomfrey queried, already waving her wand over her colleague.

Harry quickly explained that Quirrell had been possessed by Voldemort's spirit, and Hermione offered to show the two older witches their memory.

McGonagall and Pomfrey were seemingly shaken after watching the scene that emerged from the tip of Harry's wand.

"Don't you think you should have called an adult for help?" McGonagall asked in a stern voice, her lips stretched to a thin line.

"No Professor," Harry replied, firmly, and informed her, "Even though we're stuck in our eleven-year-old bodies, our magic is as strong as that of adults, and our wands are more powerful than any of the other wands here."

"And why might that be?" the deputy headmistress enquired, looking at Hermione's wand with apparent curiosity. "Is this not the wand that you bought at Ollivanders' last year?"

"No professor," Hermione admitted. "We made our wands in the past, each with a phoenix feather of Fawkes, willingly given, as well as lichens from Hogwarts' roof as the main ingredients."

McGonagall and Pomfrey exchanged a look that displayed clear amazement, before Pomfrey said, "That sounds indeed very powerful."

"Probably even more so than the elder wand," McGonagall added, pensively. "The problem is that we have to inform the headmaster about the matter with Professor Quirrell. Does he know about your time in the past?"

"No, he doesn't, and we definitely don't want him to know," Harry replied, firmly.

"He knows that Sopho sorted us into the founders' quarters though, so we could just tell them that Rowena's portrait instructed us what to do," Hermione suggested, causing the older witches to nod, reluctantly.

"That should work," McGonagall finally approved, before she turned to her colleague and best friend. "Poppy, how bad is Quirinus?"

Pomfrey once again waved her wand over the still unconscious wizard, only to confirm her earlier result. "Physically, he'll be fine when he wakes up, however, I don't know what damage the possession has done to his mind. Since I'm not a professional in the area of mind illnesses, I suggest taking him to St. Mungo's. I'm not sure, but I don't think that he'll be up to teaching again anytime soon," she replied, slightly hesitating.

McGonagall nodded. "Very well then, I'm going to call Albus." With that she strode into the healer's office and leaned into the fireplace, only to return with the headmaster two minutes later.

HP

When the Gryffindor head explained to the headmaster about the events that had taken place in the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's office thirty minutes ago, Dumbledore gave her a doubtful look.

"I'm sorry Minerva, but how will you know exactly what happened, if you haven't even seen the scene in the Pensieve?" he queried, thoughtfully stroking his beard.

Not wanting to give out the students who had shown so much confidence to her as to share their secret with her, McGonagall remained quiet and merely let out a sigh.

"Mr. and Miss Potter, please accompany me to my office," Dumbledore finally said in a firm voice, giving the students a demanding look. "Poppy, please take Quirinus to St. Mungo's."

"Only if Professor McGonagall will join us," Harry replied. "As you know, we have our reasons to not trust you, headmaster."

"I'll come with you," McGonagall hurried to reassure the boy, seemingly able to understand his reservations towards the headmaster all too well.

In Dumbledore's office, the headmaster showed him how to place a memory into a Pensieve, and Harry carefully extracted the memory from the instant, where he made himself visible until before Hermione spoke with Hogwarts. _'Thank Merlin I made myself visible before I began casting spells,'_ Harry thought, when the headmaster and his deputy headed into the Pensieve.

"That were definitely not all the Horcruxes," Dumbledore spoke up in a firm voice, when they returned from the Pensieve.

"And why would you know that?" Harry asked, sharply, not caring that his tone might not be appropriate considering that he was speaking to the headmaster.

"That I will reveal to you when you're much older," Dumbledore replied, using his grandfatherly voice that made everyone believe that he was the only one knowing what he was talking about. "You're still not grown up enough to understand such things."

"Oh well, but I'm old enough to ask Madam Bones for a trial for you because of denying my godfather to become my guardian, sending him to Azkaban in spite of being innocent, placing me with abusive Muggles who were clearly excluded as guardians in my parents' will, stealing from my bank account over a decade and hiring a teacher who was possessed by Voldemort at Hogwarts," Harry replied in an upset voice, glaring at the old wizard, before he added, "I suggest Remus Lupin as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."

Dumbledore cast him a horrified look. "A werewolf?" he then enquired. "Remus Lupin is a werewolf."

"No, he's not," Harry replied in a firm voice, "and I'm willing to bet about it if you promise to retire as headmaster if I'm right."

Dumbledore shook his head in clear annoyance, before he clearly dismissed the students, mumbling something into his beard that Harry could not understand.

HP

"Harry, that was brilliant," Hermione breathed, chuckling on their way back to their rooms. "Too bad that he didn't agree to the bet."

Harry grinned. "Yes, that would have been amazing," he admitted, "although I'm already happy that we managed to solve the Quirrell problem."

HP

Minerva let out a deep sigh, shaking her head in annoyance at the headmaster's stubbornness. _'He should try to gain Harry's trust, but he's just doing the opposite,'_ she thought. "I believe that Harry's right though. Remus Lupin would make a brilliant Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."

The headmaster glared at her as if she had lost her mind. "He's a werewolf, even if a first-year is willing to bet that he's not. Ridiculous," he mumbled into his much too long beard.

"Maybe his condition changed by some way," Minerva replied, already guessing what could have happened. "Why don't you ask him or invite Remus and call Poppy to assess his condition. Apart from that, if it was safe enough when he attended Hogwarts as a student, it should surely be safe enough to have him here as a responsible adult."

"Why would I ask Poppy to check if he's still a werewolf?" Albus asked, incredulously, his expression narrowing to a frown. "Because a first-year says that he isn't?"

"Yes," Minerva replied, simply.

"Oh Minerva, please leave the decision about new professors to me," Albus finally decided, ending the conversation.

HP

 _'There's something about Harry that I don't understand,'_ Albus thought, as he observed how his colleague and most trusted friend left his office. _'He doesn't behave as if he had grown with a magic-hating Muggle family like Petunia's family is supposed to be. I wonder who took him to Diagon Alley and to Gringotts at that, and then how he found out about being the heir of the founders and the owner of Hogwarts.'_

He absentmindedly popped a lemon drop into his mouth, as he continued to wonder about the boy who lived. _'How could he know about the Horcruxes? It seems as if his information was incomplete though. He doesn't appear to know about the Horcrux in his head and the fact that he has to die in order to get rid of all Horcruxes. Maybe I should have checked on him from time to time, so that it would have been me to introduce him to the magical world,'_ he thought, determined to find a way to gain the boy's trust and become his grandfatherly advisor like he had always set as his aim.

HP

Tom fled Hogwarts in absolute exasperation. _'That was the Potter brat,'_ he thought. _'I wonder how he knew that I was possessing the stuttering idiot. I know that he's supposed to be connected to me through the Horcrux behind his scar, but I couldn't sense him, so why would he be able to sense my presence?'_

In fact, it had been his first attempt to possess someone, and he had believed it to be a great idea to be at Hogwarts just when the boy who lived was going to be a first-year. The fact that Dumbledore was supposedly keeping the Philosopher's stone at Hogwarts definitely was a brilliant addition.

 _'But with Potter around, it's too dangerous for me at Hogwarts. What if he senses me again? I better try to possess someone who works at the Ministry of Magic. If I keep quiet and just observe my surroundings, I'll be able to hide for a while until I have the opportunity to take over a body.'_ With that plan in mind, the dark spirit made his way southwards, to where London and the Ministry of Magic was supposed to be.

HP

Later the same day, when the first-years were gathered in Harry's room on the seventh floor, Harry and Hermione informed their classmates about the matter with Professor Quirrell.

"I'm sorry for the professor, but I'm glad that he's not teaching us anymore," Neville spoke up. "He was really difficult to understand."

"I hope they'll find a new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor soon though," Draco added. "My father told me that the Dark Lord had placed a curse on the position and that Dumbledore is always having problems finding a new professor on a yearly basis."

"Quirrell didn't even make it through the year," Susan added, chuckling.

 _'Maybe Hogwarts will be able to shake off that curse,'_ Harry thought, giving his wife a questioning look.

'That may be,' Hermione thought back, giving him an encouraging look. 'Just ask her.'

Harry quickly excused himself pretending to head to the toilet. Outside the Room of Requirement, he placed his hand against the wall and asked Hogwarts for her opinion.

"I'm sorry dear, but I don't know how to cancel such a curse," Hogwarts replied, pensively. "However, if you bring the new teacher to me and make him touch my wall, I'll probably be able to make sure that he won't be affected by the curse and will be able to remain on the position as long as he and you want it."

"Oh Hogwarts, you're the best. Thank you so much," Harry replied, gratefully, feeling very relieved at the prospect.

HP

For the time being, all Defence Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled, while the headmaster was apparently trying to find a new professor.

It was only at the Halloween feast that Professor Dumbledore introduced a new member of the staff.

"This is Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. He's going to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts," Dumbledore announced, his eyes twinkling merrily, causing loud murmurs to start at all house tables, especially coming from the girls.

"He's written a lot of books about his adventures saving people all over the world. He must be amazing," Millicent spoke up in excitement.

"He's even said to have received the Order of Merlin multiple times," Pansy added, causing Draco to roll his eyes in apparent annoyance.

"I've read one of his books, and I don't believe a word of the rubbish he's written," Hermione contradicted.

"Well, let's wait and see if he's going to turn out to be a good teacher," Blaise said, smirking.

'I hope so,' Harry thought to Hermione. 'If not, I know what I'm going to do, even if Dumbledore won't like it.'

Hermione grinned. 'Sounds good,' she replied, as she filled her plate with a little of everything.

HP

Unfortunately, the students noticed soon that Lockhart was more interested to inform everyone about his achievements than to teach them proper defence spells. During the following weeks, the first-years became more and more frustrated with the new Defence Against the Dark Art professor's teaching abilities - especially Harry and Hermione, who already had the experience of seven years of classes.

One day in December, after being asked in their mid-term Defence test what was Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite food, activity and colour, Harry had enough. Together with his wife, he went to Professor McGonagall's office to complain about their professor and discuss some ideas with the deputy headmistress, knowing that the headmaster would neither listen to them nor be open for their suggestions.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	15. Chapter 15

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

Giving the Potters a surprised look, McGonagall invited them into her office, where tea and biscuits popped up on the table as soon as they had taken seats.

"Professor," Harry came straight to the point, "I believe that I've told you about the prophecy concerning Voldemort and me." Seeing the professor nod, he continued, "You're also aware of the fact that Voldemort isn't dead and that we came back to his time because it seems to be me who has to fight him. Unfortunately, this places not only my family and friends into danger but also the other students at Hogwarts, especially my classmates."

Professor McGonagall nodded, looking at Harry in clear expectation as to where this conversation might be heading.

"Therefore," Harry continued, "it is essential that the students receive the best possible training in self defence. However, Professor Lockhart is an absolute idiot and not able to fight as much as a pixie." He placed a copy of the Defence Against the Dark Arts test, which he had unobtrusively made during the test, on the table in front of the Gryffindor head.

McGonagall let her eyes wander over the parchment, before she asked, incredulously, "This was your Defence Against the Dark Arts test?"

"Yes Professor," Hermione confirmed, sighing.

"Anyway, we've been watching Lockhart now for six weeks, and he's totally incompetent," Harry continued to speak. "Therefore, we'd like to take some measures. As the owner of Hogwarts, Hermione and I are able to overwrite the headmaster's decisions. Nevertheless, we only wish to do this as the final straw in order to keep the peace and quiet at Hogwarts. For the time being, there are two things which we'd like to put into action."

A small, rare smile played on the professor's lips, as she again looked at the eleven-year-old in clear expectation.

"First of all," Harry explained, "I'd like to privately hire Remus Lupin to teach our first-year Defence classes. This has nothing to do with the headmaster, it's just about hiring a private tutor for our classes, Gryffindor and Slytherin as well as the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff class. Remus' classes could take place during our normal Defence classes, and Lockhart will merely have to teach two classes less. Remus won't even have to use the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, as I can provide him with an adequate classroom."

"May we have your approval for this, Professor?" Hermione asked the professor, who remained speechless for an instant.

"I believe that this is a very good idea," McGonagall finally replied. "Has Mr. Lupin already agreed to this?"

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed, smiling, before he enquired, "Would you please inform Mr. Lockhart, directly or through the headmaster, that he won't have to teach the first-year classes anymore from the beginning of January onwards?"

"Oh believe me, I shall do so," McGonagall promised, her mouth stretched to a thin line. "Does Mr. Lupin need accommodation here at the castle?"

"He's living at Potter Manor together with my parents-in-law and my godfather," Harry replied, smiling. "He merely needs a fireplace, which he can use, but I'll probably be able to equip his classroom with one. I need to ask Hogwarts if that'll work."

"Otherwise, please tell me, and I'll see what I can do," McGonagall reassured the eleven-year-olds in a gentle voice. "You have my full support in this matter."

Harry and Hermione profusely thanked the professor, before Harry had another point to discuss.

"As only the first-years will be able to profit from Remus' teaching abilities, which we know he has, as he has been overseeing our practice during the summer, we'd like to invent something like a study group for Defence, in which Hermione and I can teach students who are interested at least the most important self defence methods like shield charms or such. Will we have your approval for such a study group?"

Professor McGonagall took her time to ponder the matter, thoughtfully casting a cleaning spell at her glasses, before she replied. "Defence practice can be fairly dangerous, and even if I know that you've already completed your NEWTs, right now you're eleven-year-olds. Therefore, I must insist that a teacher supervises the group.

"Who might be willing to do this?" Hermione queried, giving the professor a pleading look.

"Either Professor Flitwick or Professor Snape," McGonagall said, immediately. "They're both professionals at Defence." Seeing the students stare at her, incredulously, she nodded in confirmation, before she explained, "Professor Snape would be a brilliant Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, however, we can't hire him due to the curse that's on the position."

"The curse is not a problem," Harry said, slowly. "Hogwarts promised to help me with that. However, if Professor Snape was going to teach Defence, who would become the Potions professor? Wouldn't it much better if Remus taught Defence? Oh well," he quickly changed the topic, not wanting to overly bother the professor with his choice for the post, "I don't mind working together with Professor Snape if he's willing to supervise the group."

"I'll speak with him," McGonagall promised, glancing at her wrist watch.

"I know it's almost curfew, but I have just one more small question," Harry said, quickly. "In the past, we've had Sword Fighting classes, and we'd like to continue practising. Do you perhaps know anyone whom we could hire as a teacher for Sword Fighting?"

"Just for the two of us," Hermione added.

"I'm sorry dears, but I don't know anyone who's able to do sword fighting," McGonagall said, regrettably, before she voiced a sudden thought. "Buckbean is your magical guardian, isn't he?" Seeing the students nod, she suggested, "Maybe you should ask him if he knows someone. As far as I know, the goblins are famous for their expertise in sword fighting."

Harry and Hermione profusely thanked the deputy headmistress for her kind help, before they left the office and apparated straight to Potter Manor to tell Remus the good news.

HP

Minerva let out a long sigh, as the students left her office. _'Hogwarts... no, the whole magical world is going to change because of these two,'_ she thought, smiling. _'It'll be for the better though. Albus will be mad about the matter with Remus Lupin, although he can still be grateful that Harry didn't already dismiss Lockhart and install Lupin, as he would be well able to do so, especially if Hogwarts promised to help with the curse on the position. My problem now is to convince Severus to supervise their Defence club. He's just going to sneer when I tell him that two first-years intend to teach the older students.'_

She mulled over the problem for a few minutes, before she decided to go and have tea with her best friend, Poppy Pomfrey. It was not only that she used to have a good advice no matter for which topic, but she was also good friends with Severus and knew him better than anyone else in the castle.

HP

Severus Snape merely quirked an eyebrow, when Minerva told him about the Potters' accusations against the current Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and showed him this morning's Defence test of the Slytherin and Gryffindor first-years.

However, when she continued that the Potters were going to hire Lupin to teach the first-years in private, he sneered, "Perhaps going to spend the full moon together in the moonlight?"

"Severus, please behave yourself," Poppy admonished him lightly. "You know that Remus wouldn't endanger anyone."

However, the conversation still became worse, when Minerva informed him that the Potters wanted to set up a Defence club for all willing students and that they wanted him, Severus, to supervise the whole thing.

"What will two first-years be able to teach the seventh years?" he asked, incredulously. "Minerva, are you sure that they were neither drunk nor delirious when they spoke with you?"

"Absolutely certain," his Gryffindor colleague replied, "and I'd really like to ask you to at least speak with them about the matter and ask them about a possible lesson plan."

 _'So far, I had the impression as if Potter was more like Lily, especially since he's so brilliant at Potions, but this really sounds like Potter senior,'_ Severus thought, inwardly groaning at the task that his two best friends had just bestowed upon him.

HP

Potions was the Potters' last class before the beginning of the Christmas holidays. The whole school was almost vibrating in expectation of the Hogwarts express leaving the following morning to take everyone back to their families for Christmas, when Severus Snape kept Harry and Hermione back after their class.

"Professor McGonagall informed me that you're planning to hold a Defence club for the whole school," the professor began to speak, quirking an eyebrow in question.

While Hermione nodded her agreement, Harry explained why he thought it was important for the students to have as much experience in defence as possible. He then listed up a few topics that would surely be touched in the group during the first months, causing the Slytherin head to become very thoughtful.

"I shall supervise your group," he finally offered, before he added, "If you allow me one question, who has taught you before you came to Hogwarts? I feel myself being unable to believe that you grew up with Muggles."

Harry exchanged a glance with his wife, before he replied, "Multiple persons have taught us, however, we wish to keep the matter to ourselves for the time being, especially as we don't trust the headmaster."

"Thank you very much for offering to supervise the Defence group," Hermione added. "We appreciate it very much."

They decided to announce the new group at the welcoming feast in January, and Harry and Hermione left, feeling very grateful to the professor for accepting to supervise them without insisting to get to know their secret.

HP

The travel to King's Cross was pleasant and seemed much faster than their first trip almost four months ago had been. The only back side of travelling with the Hogwarts Express was that not all of the first-years fit into one compartment, so that the students kept visiting each other in the neighbouring compartments throughout the travel. Harry and Hermione sat together with their best friends, Susan and Neville, while the other two seats became occupied by various other first-years who took turns sitting with them.

"I can't believe that we won't be able to see each other for two weeks," Susan suddenly blurted out. "I know that two weeks aren't long, and I'm looking forward to spending some time with my aunt, but still we've become so close. It's just like having gained a large group of siblings."

Exchanging a couple of telepathic thoughts, Hermione finally replied, "We'll think about it. Maybe we can invite the whole class to spend New Year's Eve together."

"But we have to discuss this with our family and make some preparations first," Harry added, smiling at the excitement that spread through the compartment at the idea.

While everyone hurried to inform their fellow first-years, Harry and Hermione spent the remaining minutes discussing the pro and contras between holding their party at Potter Manor or at Gryffindor Manor. Finally, they decided that the fact that the grounds around Gryffindor Manor were charmed to be of an agreeably warm temperature throughout the year, so that they could spend some time on the beach and in the shallow sea overwrote all advantages that Potter Manor might have.

At the same time, they were fully aware of the fact that they had not travelled to Gryffindor Manor after returning to the future, so that they had to go and check on the place before making a decision one or the other way.

'Let's go there tomorrow morning,' Hermione thought to Harry, when the Hogwarts Express pulled into platform nine and three quarters at King's Cross. 'If all is well, we could surprise our family and spend Christmas Day there. I'm sure there will be a portrait by now, to which your parents could travel to join us.'

HP

Fully expecting the Grangers to be waiting on the Muggle side of the station, Harry and Hermione strode straight to the barrier, when a voice from the left side caught their attention.

"Hey, where do you think you're going so fast?"

"Sirius!" the Potters shouted, happily, only now realising that Emma, Dan, Remus and Sirius were standing right on the platform together with Amelia Bones and Augusta Longbottom.

It did not take long, before they were joined by Susan and Neville.

"We were wondering where you were. You vanished so quickly," Susan scolded them lightly, before she found herself being pulled into a bear hug by her aunt.

"Eager to get home," Harry replied, grinning at the feigned pout by their friends. "We'll contact you as soon as we've discussed the matter about our party," he promised, before he took a small cork out of his robe pocket and transfigured it into a Portkey that took his family to Potter Manor a few minutes and seemingly infinite well wishes and Happy Christmas wishes later.

Only back at the Manor, Sirius was unable to hide a huge grin, causing the children to stare at him in surprise.

"Come on, godfather, spill it. What did you do now?" Harry asked, playfully, causing Sirius to burst out laughing.

"Seeing how long it took us to separate from your friends and their guardians, one could think that we weren't going to meet them for ten months," he chuckled, before admitting that they had invited the Bones and the Longbottoms to Potter Manor for Christmas dinner.

"Oh that's great," the children blurted out, simultaneously.

"Well, you've told us so much about them that we realised you probably wouldn't survive two weeks without at least meeting them once," Emma added, grinning.

 _'Thank Merlin that their families are nice, too,'_ Harry thought. He had liked Madam Bones since he had been communicating with her in the summer, and Neville's grandmother seemed strict but had been very friendly to him and Hermione.

HP

If the children had been surprised to see their family being together with their best friends' guardians and hearing about the invitation for Christmas dinner, they sat with open mounds in the recreation room staring at Emma, when she made a short display of the magic that she had already learned to do.

"She's amazing, isn't she?" Dan spoke up, looking proudly at his wife.

"Absolutely," Hermione agreed, immediately.

"And Remus and Sirius seem to be wonderful teachers," Harry added, smiling, before he suggested, "Maybe there's a way for Emma to attend Hogwarts with us, even if you'd be the only adult studying there."

"Maybe there could be two of them," Remus spoke up, pensively. Seeing everyone stare at him, he explained, "You've written about visiting the basilisk in Salazar's Chamber of Secrets, haven't you?"

"Of course," Harry replied, eagerly. "I try to visit her as often as possible, even if on some days I just can't get around to. She's an absolute sweetie."

"I figured that from your letters," Remus replied in a strangely grave voice, before he continued, "You probably know Hagrid. About fifty years ago, he was accused of opening the Chamber of Secrets and letting out a monster that killed a girl, and..."

"Impossible," Harry interrupted the Marauder. "Only a Parselmouth can open the chamber."

"Oh no, is that why he uses an umbrella to cast magic? To hide his wand?" Hermione blurted out in clear horror that intensified when Sirius and Remus nodded.

"A broken wand," Remus lightly corrected her.

"All right, what can we do to clear his name then? Should I write to Madam Bones?" Harry asked, eager to help the half-giant who had been nothing but friendly to the first-years.

"You'll meet her the day after tomorrow. We can wait until then and speak with her," Hermione suggested, calmly, before she efficiently changed the topic. "Now what are we going to do tomorrow? We need to buy Christmas presents, and we'd like to make a small excursion to Gryffindor Manor to see if everything is as we hope it to be. If so, we'd like to invite our whole class there for New Year's Eve."

Emma cast her daughter a displeased look. "Hermione, don't you think their parents would want to have their children with them for New Year's Eve, after being separated from them for almost four months?"

Harry cleared his throat, before he replied, pensively. "We can invite their families, too. The Manor is large enough to accommodate the adults, while our classmates can spend the night in sleeping bags on the beach."

"We've done so before," Hermione added, grinning broadly.

However, Sirius shook his head. "Definitely not," he said in a grave but firm voice. "I have an idea though. Let's speak with Madam Bones about it."

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	16. Chapter 16

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

After confirming that everything was all right and as it was supposed to be at Gryffindor Manor, Harry informed head house-elf Trulla that they were planning a huge party for New Year's Eve.

"Lord Gryffindor, the house-elves of Gryffindor Manor would be more than pleased to house such an event," Trulla confirmed, seemingly eager.

"Please just call me Harry," the eleven-year-old replied, before he promised to inform her as soon as possible. _'I wonder what Sirius wants to discuss with Madam Bones about it,'_ he thought, grinning as he observed two dogs run along the beach with apparent pleasure. _'At least Hermione and Sirius are already having fun,'_ he thought, when an idea crossed his mind.

"Trulla, would it be possible to have Christmas dinner here for our whole family along with four guests?" he asked, causing the head house-elf to stare at him with an expression of pure joy.

"Of course Master Harry, we'll be very happy to serve you," she replied, eagerly.

HP

Not only their family but also the guests were thrilled at their surroundings, when they had Christmas dinner at a large table right on the beach. The manor was surrounded by palm trees, decorated with lampions that made it bright enough to comfortably enjoy their dinner, while the stars were twinkling above the sea.

"It feels as if we were on an island somewhere in the Caribbean," Madam Bones said, pleasantly.

"What an amazing place for Christmas dinner," Augusta Longbottom agreed, smiling.

"Excuse me for asking this, Harry. I know that we came here through the national floo network, so we must still be in Britain, but where exactly is Gryffindor Manor situated?" Amelia Bones asked, seemingly hesitant.

Harry chuckled, as he pointed over to the gate behind him. "If you pass through the gate, you'll be on the Hogwarts grounds," he explained. "Only those who know the Manor will be able to see it from the Hogwarts side though."

"If you ever need to get to Hogwarts quickly and don't want to use the headmaster's fireplace, this might be the fastest way," Hermione added, smiling, as she put down her fork, knowing that she wouldn't be able to stomach any more of the delicious food.

"Now Amelia, I have two serious questions," Sirius suddenly spoke up in a stern voice, causing everyone to stare at the usually funny wizard in surprise. He then told the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement about Harry being friends with Amaterasu, Slytherin's basilisk, and Hagrid clearly being unable to open the Chamber of Secrets. Finally, he asked, "Would it be possible to get a trial for him, even if the matter occurred almost fifty years ago?"

"I'll see to it," Amelia promised, "provided that Harry is willing to participate as a witness and explain that the chamber can only be opened by a Parselmouth."

"Of course," Harry replied, feeling very happy for the half-giant to get a trial to confirm his innocence.

"The second point is that our children want to have a party here for their whole first-year class including their parents," Sirius then continued to speak. "However, knowing that there are Death Eaters among their parents, like, for example, Lucius Malfoy, I'm wondering if it was possible to ward the Manor in a way that Death Eaters wouldn't be able to access it."

Amelia remained thoughtful for a moment, before she replied. "Considering that we have the boy-who-lived here along with Muggles, this would certainly be necessary. I don't think that anyone in the magical world possesses the knowledge of how to achieve such a kind of wards though. I could only ask the goblins. They might be able to provide us with such kind of wards." Turning to Harry, she enquired, "You told me before that Buckbean is your magical guardian, is that correct?"

"Yes, that's right," Harry confirmed.

"Very well, then I will ask him," Amelia promised, resolutely. "I'll contact you as soon as I know more."

HP

To Harry's relief, the goblins were able to place adequate wards around the manor, and since Buckbean was his magical guardian, they were even willing to offer the wards for an affordable price.

While the goblins were still applying the wards, Harry and Hermione sat on the beach and wrote a letter to their classmates inviting everyone together with their parents and siblings, while Sirius and Remus were glancing over their shoulders to give them useful or sometimes rather ridiculous advice. The Potters merely listened, however, mostly dismissed the Marauders' comments. However, when Sirius told them to clearly write that people bearing the Dark Mark would not be able to access the place, the children immediately decided that it would be better to mention that fact in their letter.

They copied the letter forty times, before they both turned themselves invisible and stepped through the gate onto the Hogwarts grounds heading straight to the owlery, where they handed their parchments to the school owls for a fast delivery.

HP

Amelia indeed managed to achieve a trial for Hagrid, which took place in the morning of New Year's Eve. Since Harry was invited as the most important witness, his wife and godfather immediately decided to join him.

The trial took place in a relatively small room in the Ministry of Magic, and everyone was greeted, before Madam Bones explained that it had become clear that Hagrid could not have opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago.

"How did this become clear?" the judge enquired with apparent interest.

"Mr. Potter, who is the heir of the four founders of Hogwarts, knows how to get into the chamber and he also knows the basilisk that is residing there," Amelia replied, causing everyone to stare at Harry in disbelief.

The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, rose from his seat. "Mr. Potter, how old are you?" he asked, sharply.

"Eleven," Harry replied, grudgingly, finding an immediate dislike for the Minister.

"He's just eleven and wasn't even alive when Hagrid opened the chamber," Fudge then said, triumphantly looking around the room. "This is just the phantasm of an eleven-year-old."

"We should only accept input from responsible adults and not from attention-seeking little brats," a witch in pink robes spoke up, of whom Harry heard someone whisper that she was the under secretary of the minister, Dolores Umbridge.

 _'She's even worse than Fudge,'_ Harry thought. "Bullshit," he interrupted the witch, sharply, not caring if he was being rude. He rose from his chair, feverishly thinking of a memory of when he had visited Amaterasu going through the toilet instead of through their own quarters, before he cast the charm to have the memory emerge from the tip of his wand for everyone in the room to watch.

'Harry, they mustn't know that we can view memories by this charm,' Hermione thought to him, clearly shocked, however, Harry merely shrugged.

'Let them think it was our own invention or whatever,' he thought back. 'I'm not going to teach anyone that charm.'

Finally, Hagrid was questioned under Veritaserum, before the judges retired and a break of thirty minutes was announced.

"Harry," Amelia Bones was quickly at his side. "What does it need for me to do so you teach me that charm?" she asked, grinning mischievously.

Harry gave the woman, whom he really liked and trusted, a regretful look. "I'm very sorry, Madam Bones, but I just had to promise to Hermione that I wouldn't teach it to anyone," he apologized.

"Maybe we'll teach you, but not here. Only at home and in private," Hermione added, smiling, as she also liked Susan's aunt a lot.

HP

Thirty minutes later, Hagrid was a free man, received the permission to once again carry a wand as well as a compensation of one million Galleons for misjudgement by a former Ministry of Magic.

Large tears were streaming over his face, when he made his way to Harry and pulled him into a bone crashing hug.

"Hagrid, be careful," Hermione finally shouted, trying to pull the half giant off her husband. "Don't kill Harry."

"'M sorry," Hagrid replied, letting go off the boy. "Thank ye fer wha you did fer me, 'Arry."

"You're very welcome," Harry replied, smiling. "Although you don't have to thank me but Remus Lupin. He was the one to alert Madam Bones to the problem and ask for a trial for you. I'm glad that it worked out so well though."

'Shall we invite him to our party?' Hermione suddenly asked, and the couple immediately decided to do so.

Hagrid gladly accepted and on Hermione's request even promised to bring the four heads of the houses along.

"Not the headmaster though," Hermione instructed the large wizard in a firm voice.

"Wait at the edge of the forest right next to the lake," Harry told the half-giant, promising to come and fetch the adults at seven o'clock this very evening. 'I hope the others don't mind that we've invited the professors,' he then thought to his wife, who shook her head in denial.

HP

The New Year's party was a huge success - apart from a small incident that occurred before it even began.

When their first classmates began to arrive, Harry stepped through the gate onto the Hogwarts grounds, noticing that Hagrid had indeed managed to bring all the four heads of the houses along. He showed them the gate explaining that it would lead to Gryffindor Manor and asked the adults to step through. Professor Flitwick was the one to lead the small group through the gate, followed by the Hufflepuff head, however, when Professor Snape tried to step through the gate, he was unable to walk forward.

"Strange," Harry muttered in confusion. "Hagrid, will you please try?"

When Hagrid managed to get through the gate without any problem, Harry suddenly paled. That left only one answer to the mystery. Professor Snape had to be a Death Eater.

"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry spoke up in a small voice, turning to the Potions Master. "Are you perhaps wearing the Dark Mark? I'm sorry for asking, but the wards are set to not let persons with the Dark Mark through, because Sirius thought it could be dangerous with people like Lucius Malfoy at our party."

Exchanging a glance with his Gryffindor colleague, Snape replied, "I have been a spy for Professor Dumbledore, which is why I'm indeed wearing the Dark Lord's Mark. Please keep this knowledge to yourself though."

"I promise sir," Harry replied, letting out a long sigh. _'I trust him,'_ he thought, noticing that Professor McGonagall did not seem bothered at all by the Potions Master's revelation. He finally admitted that he had no clue how to admit someone to the wards manually. "Maybe the elves know," he then thought aloud and called Trulla.

"Yes, Master Harry, as the owner of the manor, you can still manually add guests to the wards even if they have been rejected by the wards," Trulla informed him and taught him the spell that he had to cast.

"Thank you so much," Harry replied, gratefully, feeling very relieved at the information, as he really had no reason to keep Professor Snape out. He quickly added the Potions Master to the wards, before he then followed Professor McGonagall through.

All first-years had arrived in the meantime, most of them together with their families, except for a group of about a dozen Slytherins who had come alone or together with their siblings. Nevertheless, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves immensely, especially when Sirius and Remus started a firework display at the edge of the sea at midnight.

HP

At one stage, Harry took Draco aside, as he and Blaise were the closest to him of all the Slytherin first-years and apologized for not allowing people with the Dark Mark into the manor.

To his surprise, Draco let out a snort. "I absolutely don't care," he then admitted. "My father is full of shit and still a supporter of the Dark Lord. And so are some of his friends even if they denied everything in front of the Ministry. My father was livid, but I think you did right to keep them out, and my mother saw to it that I was allowed to still come here."

"Thank Merlin," Harry replied, smiling. "I'm glad that everyone was able to join us."

"It's your influence," Draco said, thoughtfully. "I've known most of the Death Eater children from before Hogwarts, and most of them were set to follow their fathers' footpaths. Now, however, their opinion has changed and they're not ready to go through the same mistakes that their parents made while the Dark Lord was active."

HP

Unbeknownst to Harry, who spent most of the evening on the beach together with his classmates, Sirius and Remus spoke with the Hogwarts professors about possible lessons for Emma and Hagrid.

"We need of course to discuss this with the headmaster, however, since I noticed how all the first-years here have accepted the Grangers, even if they were told that they were Muggles, and seeing how they were playing with Hagrid on the beach earlier, I'd suggest that they just attend classes together with the students," McGonagall was the first to reply.

"We've never had a class of first-years who were so open-minded and stuck together so much like these," Flitwick threw in, seemingly happy.

"And we've never had so few homesick first-years like this year," Sprout added, sounding equally thrilled.

"Severus must think the same, as my Gryffindors have never lost so few house-points," McGonagall said, giving the Potions Master a teasing look.

"Their performance is adequate," even the Slytherin head had to admit.

"According to my godson, my goddaughter is very studious and makes everyone else study," Sirius spoke up, smirking.

"Your goddaughter?" McGonagall asked, surprise clearly written in her face.

"Hermione Potter," Sirius replied, matter-of-factly. "Since she's my godson's wife, it makes her my goddaughter." _'Oh shit, was I not supposed to say that?'_ he wondered upon noticing the professors' strange looks. "Ah, please forget what I said. I thought it was common knowledge at Hogwarts, considering that I was told her name had automatically changed to Potter."

"I believe that no one was aware of the reason for that except for me and Madam Pomfrey," McGonagall replied in a soft voice, before she instructed her colleagues to keep that information from the headmaster.

Everyone voiced their agreement, and McGonagall continued, "I'll speak with Emma Granger and Hagrid tonight, and if they agree, I'll inform Albus tomorrow. Even if his approval is not really required, considering that Harry's decisions can overwrite his."

HP

It was in the early morning hours, when their classmates were asleep in red sleeping bags that were spread over the beach, that Hermione joined Harry in the Master bedroom.

"That was a fantastic party," she said, smiling.

"Yeah, I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves," Harry agreed, pensively.

"I think so, too," Hermione added. "At first, I was a bit worried about the Death Eater children though, but they took it surprisingly well."

"I had a little talk with Draco," Harry admitted and told her about his conversation with the blonde boy. "He must find it strange that Snape was able to attend though. Considering that he's his godson, he'll surely be aware of his Dark Mark."

"Snape has the Dark Mark?" Hermione asked, alert.

"Yes, but he was a spy for the light side," Harry reassured her. "Trulla showed me how to manually add him to the wards." They both remained quiet for a moment, before Harry added, "Since Snape trusted us enough to accept supervising the Defence group in spite of knowing that we're keeping a secret from most of the staff, I thought that he deserved our trust in return."

Hermione smiled. "My sweet husband," she mumbled, contentedly snuggling into his side.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	17. Chapter 17

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

After multiple discussions between Emma and Dan, mostly because Emma felt bad to just go to Hogwarts to study leaving their dental practice to Dan, the Grangers agreed that Emma should do this very thing, go to Hogwarts and study together with their daughter, son-in-law and their friends.

When Dumbledore then unexpectedly offered the position of the Muggle Studies professor to Dan, stating that the current teacher had never really lived in the Muggle world and that Professor McGonagall had recommended him as much more competent, the Grangers decided to sell their practice and begin a new life in the magical world.

Needless to say that Hermione and Harry were thrilled at the idea.

In contrary to Emma, Hagrid decided to keep his position at Hogwarts and only attend classes for the main subjects, not only because he had already studied up to his fifth year fifty years ago, but also to have enough time left for his usual work.

HP

With the beginning of classes in January, not only Emma and Hagrid began to participate in the first-year-classes and Dan became a professor, but also Remus started to teach the first-years' Defence Against the Dark Arts class and Sirius resumed his work as an Auror.

At first, the former werewolf had insisted to teach their class for free, however, Harry had made it very clear from the beginning that he was going to pay Remus at least as much as the normal professors would receive for teaching their classes.

While the headmaster apparently had no intention to sack his installed Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, the older students took great interest to hear from the first-years how their classes with the new teacher went. It did not take more than a week for all the older students to become green with envy at the first-years.

On the first evening of the Defence club, the whole first-year class showed up, causing Snape to quirk an eyebrow at the Potters in silent question.

"Maybe we just show them the first spell that we want to teach them today and then pair them into groups and go around and check on each group?" Harry suggested, knowing that the professor had fully agreed on their plan of what to teach the students today, when they had spoken with him about the matter earlier the same day.

To Harry's relief, although he had to admit to himself that he had not really expected anything else, the first-years eagerly practised, and even the professor seemed to be contented with their performance.

At this time, no one was able to predict how soon the news about how Remus taught the first-years in combination with the effect that Harry's and Hermione's Defence club had on the students was going to cause trouble for the headmaster and his chosen professor.

HP

Just one week later, however, the number of students coming to the Defence club had doubled. Surprisingly, the students came from all classes and all houses, which made Harry and Hermione especially happy. On the other hand, they knew, however, that they were soon going to face a big problem.

"Maybe we should ask Sirius and Remus if they'd be willing to come to Hogwarts and assist as well?" Harry asked Snape, with whom he and Hermione had so far gotten along very well.

"That will be necessary," Snape replied, wearing an indifferent expression.

"All right, please excuse me for a moment," Harry said, glancing at Hermione, before he left the room and apparated straight to Potter Manor.

"Sorry Sirius and Remus, I need you to come with me and help Snape and us supervise the Defence club," he blurted out, causing the Marauders to grin and immediately agree.

"Snape will have to change his underwear after working together with us though," Sirius chuckled, making Harry glare at his godfather.

"Sirius, we've been getting along well with Snape so far, and I don't want to ruin this. Please behave yourself, otherwise, we won't need your help," he stated in a firm voice, inwardly smiling when Lily and James fully backed his request.

HP

"Snape," Sirius was the first to speak up when they entered the room for the Defence club, "thanks for helping my godson and goddaughter with this."

The Potions Master merely inclined his head and suggested for Harry and Hermione to commence.

The two first-years nodded and showed their students the first spell for tonight, before they divided everyone into groups, careful to mix the groups as well as possible concerning the age and house affiliation of the students.

Everything worked out well, and by the end of the evening, when Harry and Hermione asked the room for tables and chairs along with mugs of tea accompanied by plates of biscuits to give everyone the opportunity to discuss the spell and charm they had practised, all students were capable of casting the spell and the charm which they had learned on that evening, even if not perfectly yet.

When everyone returned to their houses on time for curfew, the Defence club became the main subject in all four common rooms, and after a longer discussion, all students from all houses made two spontaneous decisions.

HP

Unaware of the commotion that was going on in the houses, the culprits, who had caused the whole matter, relaxed in the founders' quarters, glad that Snape had thanked Remus and Sirius for their invaluable assistance and asked them to help again with their next session.

"Thank Merlin Sirius and Remus behaved," Harry spoke up.

"Yes, it was amazing how they worked together to assist, considering the stories that Sirius uses to tell us about him from their own time at Hogwarts," Hermione replied, shaking her head in annoyance. "I hope they'll continue to behave for the sake of the club."

They were just about to make plans for the next session, when Helena swept into the room, grinning in apparent amusement.

"You should reconsider your club and make it two different clubs, one for the younger and one for the older students," she advised them, replying to their unasked question with the information that she had just received in the Ravenclaw common room as well as from the ghosts of the other houses.

"All students have decided to participate in your club."

"Nonsense," Harry was the first to reply. "Even with Snape's, Sirius' and Remus' assistance, we won't be able to teach the whole school at once, even if we divide them and teach them on two different evenings."

"You should ask Professor Flitwick for his assistance as well," Helena suggested. "He's extremely good at duelling."

"We can do that, but even then, we'd have to teach more than one hundred students in one evening," Harry groaned.

"Don't worry too much," Helena predicted in a soothing voice, "this will only last until the school has a proper Defence teacher, then you'll only have to teach the first-years."

"That won't happen too quickly," Harry said, darkly, "considering how stubborn Dumbledore is."

"Haha, maybe he won't have a choice," Helena replied, chuckling as she left through the wall.

HP

When Harry and Hermione entered the Great Hall in the morning, Marcus Flint, the Slytherin Quidditch captain, kept him back. "Harry, Draco and Blaise told me that you can make rooms. We need a room for the Slytherin and Gryffindor fifth-years first thing in the morning."

"The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff fifth-years need one too, and probably all the other classes as well," Penelope, who was a Ravenclaw prefect, threw in."

Harry glared at the older students, before he instructed them to accompany him, promising to see what he could do. Giving his wife a questioning look, he made a beeline towards an unused wing behind the Ravenclaw common room.

'I've no idea,' Hermione thought to him, as she followed the small group to assist her husband.

HP

"Everyone in Slytherin but the first-years have decided to boycott their Defence classes," Marcus informed the Potters on their way.

"In Ravenclaw too, and according to the Grey Lady, all students from all houses have made the same decision, so we'd like to have somewhere, where we can spend those classes together with our classmates from the other house without Lockhart being able to find us," Penelope explained, giving Hermione a pleading look.

 _'It's not as if he was going to search for you,'_ Harry thought, inwardly grinning. "Maybe we should just make study rooms for each year then," he decided, when they reached the unused wing. A quick spell cleared the corridor from dust, before he placed his hand against the wall to speak with the castle.

"Hogwarts, I'm sorry to bother you this morning, but I need to make study rooms for the first through seventh years. Could you perhaps be so kind and change the classrooms here into study rooms for each year?"

"Of course dear," Hogwarts replied in a soft voice. "I like very much that you're vanishing the house rivalry. This drift is not what my founders tried to achieve by making the houses."

"I know," Harry replied, smiling, "and I'm really very happy about it, too."

An instant later, he led the two fifth-years into the first room. It was built in the same fashion as the common rooms and was equipped with comfortable looking sofas and chairs grouped around small tables.

"This is just perfect," Penelope said, seemingly amazed. "Thank you so much, Harry."

"There's no need for thanks," Harry replied. "That was Hogwarts herself." He stepped out into the corridor and magically attached numbers from 1 to 7 to the respective doors, before he looked at Hermione. "Let's see if we can still get some breakfast. I'm famished." Only when they were alone, he once again placed his hand against the wall and profusely thanked the castle for her help.

HP

The spirit was hovering in a corner of a small corridor within the Department of Magical Mysteries. During the last few weeks, it had already made its way through all departments of the Ministry of Magic and closely observed the wizards who were working there.

 _'Malfoy would be the best,'_ he thought. _'He clearly was and most likely still is my most loyal follower. He's even in the possession of one of my horcruxes, which might be useful in case something happens to me.'_

In fact, he was torn between possessing one of his followers like Lucius or taking the child of one of the ministry employees. _'For example, the young daughter of the Muggle loving fool Weasley,'_ he pondered. _'She could be raised as the new Dark Lady, be it by her own parents or by a proper wizarding family like the Malfoys.'_ However, for the time being, he dismissed the idea and resolved to observe the ministry for a little while longer. _'I have as much time as I need and want. There's no need to hurry,'_ he thought, smirking.

HP

Harry's and Hermione's first morning class was Transfiguration. Knowing that they could fully trust Professor McGonagall, they kept back after the end of the class and informed the professor of the students' decision to boycott Lockhart's classes.

"All students of all houses?" the deputy headmistress asked, incredulously.

"That's what Lady Helena told us," the Potters replied, grinning, causing a rare smile to play on the professor's lips.

"One point each to all students for overcoming the house rivalry," McGonagall uttered, smirking. "Well, I look forward to what Lockhart says. Professor Dumbledore will be livid in any case," she added, still looking amused when Harry and Hermione left the classroom.

HP

With a feeling of foreboding and expectation, Minerva headed to the Great Hall for lunch, somehow expecting Lockhart to be very upset about the students' behaviour. However, to her utmost surprise, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor arrived with the same broad smile on his face that he was wearing all the time, absolutely driving her nuts.

 _'I wonder if he's already told Albus,'_ she thought, however, the headmaster looked as pleased as his most annoying colleague having the usual twinkle in his eyes. Minerva cast Severus a glance, however, the Potions Master merely quirked an eyebrow in silent question, which she would definitely not answer right in front of everyone.

 _'Tonight, I'm going to speak with Albus,'_ she resolved. _'If he remains inactive like this, the students are going to take over Hogwarts. He's the headmaster after all and needs to get a grip on himself if he doesn't want to be replaced sometime very soon.'_

HP

Albus Dumbledore was in a good mood, when he returned to his office after dinner. It had been a pleasant day. None of the teachers had complained about anything, his colleagues had kept their usual bickering and fighting at bay, and even the Minister of Magic had left him in peace for once. Now he was looking forward to a quiet evening together with his familiar Fawkes.

However, he had just let himself sink onto the most comfortable sofa in his office, when the gargoyle announced that Minerva was coming to visit.

 _'Oh well, maybe time for some Wizard's chess,'_ he thought, pleasantly offering his long-term colleague and good friend a lemon drop. Of course he knew that she would refuse the sweet, however, he looked up in shock upon her completely unexpected response.

"Don't lemon drop me, Albus. One would think that you'd have more important things on your mind right now," she said in a no-nonsense voice.

"But no my dear, what's wrong?" Albus enquired in a soft voice, sounding astonished.

Minerva let out a small snort. "Albus, what are you going to do about Gilderoy?"

"About Gilderoy?" Albus asked, not understanding what the problem was. "Why would I do anything?"

Minerva cast him an incredulous look. "Didn't he tell you what happened?" she then asked in apparent disbelief.

"No dear, what's wrong?" Albus repeated his earlier question, wondering why his female colleagues just could not just let things run their course. Most problems would get resolved by themselves anyway.

"All students have been boycotting his classes today," the deputy headmistress informed him in a crisp voice, only to add, "I believe that it's time for you to do something if you plan to remain the headmaster for the foreseeable future."

"That must have been instigated by Harry Potter," Albus said, gravely.

"No, it was not," Minerva contradicted in a firm voice. "He was the one who alerted me to the problem, however, he only got to know about the students' unanimous decision, because the Grey Lady informed him about it. He has nothing to do with it, except for hiring Remus as the first-years' teacher and running an amazing Defence club. Sir Nicholas told me that the whole school has decided to participate, just like they unanimously resolved to skip Lockhart's classes."

"Well, this is the end of said club," Albus replied, decisively, causing Minerva to roll her eyes in apparent annoyance.

"You can't do this, Albus," she informed him. "The setting up of study clubs is explicitly encouraged at Hogwarts, and Severus is already supervising the club and Filius told me he will do so as well commencing tomorrow."

"No!" Albus almost shouted in anger. "I will forbid any of the professors to participate teaching, supervising or whatever that club." With that, he called Twinkle, his personal house-elf, and asked him to call Professors Snape, Flitwick and Lockhart to his office instantly.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	18. Chapter 18

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

Harry and Hermione had just returned to their quarters after an enjoyable evening in the new first-year study room, when Malcolm appeared in their room.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but Cicero, Professor Snape's house-elf, just contacted me, as he can't reach you here himself. Professor Snape wishes to speak with you, if possible right away. He said he will give you a pass for being out after curfew."

"All right, thank you Malcolm," Hermione replied, smiling at the always friendly elf.

Exchanging a glance, Harry and Hermione apparated straight in front of the Potions Master's office, glad that the professor opened the door almost instantly following their knock.

"The headmaster has forbidden Professor Flitwick and me or any other of our colleagues to become involved with your Defence club anymore," Snape came straight to the point.

"He what?" Harry blurted out in disbelief. "But Professor McGonagall told us the club had to be supervised.

Snape smirked. "Yes, and there's no problem if Lupin and Black continue participating in it, as they're not employed by the headmaster."

"Ridiculous," Harry growled, causing Snape to slightly incline his head.

"Apparently, the matter arose by the fact that Professor Lockhart's classes have been boycotted today," Snape continued. "I trust that you've heard about it."

"Yes, Lady Helena told us about it last night," Hermione admitted. "She said it was a common action of all houses together."

"That's true," Snape confirmed with a small smile playing on his lips. "It's a brilliant idea, and one would expect Professor Dumbledore to draw the conclusions and fire the fraud. However, it's not easy to find a competent Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and the only one available is a werewolf..." He slowly trailed off.

"Professor Lupin is not a werewolf anymore," Harry replied, eagerly. "Professor, would you be willing to swear us a wizard's oath to not reveal our secret to anyone?"

Snape cast the boy a thoughtful look, making Harry inwardly groan as he could imagine that the professor was comparing him to his father, who had been his childhood enemy. However, just when the professor opened his mouth to reply, there were a couple of knocks at the door, apparently implying urgency.

With a flick of his hand, Snape opened the door, revealing Draco Malfoy together with the Bloody Baron.

"Uncle Severus, come quickly. Lockhart attacked the whole Slytherin Quidditch team, when they came in from practice. They're still fighting in the entrance hall."

Already rising from his seat, Snape cast the Potters a quick look. "Please come back to speak about the matter tomorrow after the last afternoon class."

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed quickly, before they hurried after the professor out of his office. "Let's help them," he suggested, feeling relieved when Hermione agreed immediately.

HP

Harry and Hermione apparated into the entrance hall, where Harry immediately pulled his wand. Lockhart, who found himself at want-point from the whole Quidditch team except for a third-year, whom he had already efficiently hit with a memory charm, looked at the intruders.

"Potter, you're the bane of everything," he blurted out, pointing his wand at the eleven-year-old. "I might not be good at teaching, however, there's one thing I'm good at and that's a memory spell."

As soon as the professor moved his wand arm to cast the spell, Harry and Hermione put up an ancient shield charm over themselves that made the spell backfire at the adult wizard.

Just when Snape hurried into the entrance hall, Lockhart recovered from a few seconds of shock and spoke up, "Oh hello all, who are you all? Where are we? Do you know what my name is?"

Snape quirked an eyebrow, causing Marcus Flint to explain what had happened.

"Those who are not hurt, return to your houses," Snape instructed his students, accepting with a small nod that Hermione conjured two stretchers, onto which she levitated the obliviated wizards.

"Just to confirm what Marcus said, we did not cast a spell at him, we only conjured a strong shield charm," Harry said to the Potions Master, who raised an eyebrow in silent question.

"Ah, the headmaster will surely try to blame me for this," Harry replied, pointing to Lockhart.

"He won't be able to do so," Snape promised, before he made his way to the hospital wing with the two stretchers floating ahead.

HP

Amelia Bones was sitting in her office together with Tonks, Sirius and Shacklebolt, three of her most trusted Aurors. Originally, she had planned to gain her colleagues' opinion about casting Death Eater repelling wards around the Ministry of Magic without the involvement of the minister. However, due to a letter that she had just received from Susan, her priorities had changed for the time being.

She quickly informed her colleagues that Professor Dumbledore had forbidden his employees at Hogwarts to assist with the Potters' Defence club and asked if they were willing to take their place on two or three evenings per week.

"Only until Dumbledore finally hires a proper Defence Against the Dark Arts professor," she added as an afterthought.

"Of course, we'll assist, won't we, Shacklebolt?" Tonks agreed, eagerly changing her hair colour from light brown to an enthusiastic pink.

"Yes," Shacklebolt confirmed, nodding at his younger colleague.

"I've been in already, together with Remus Lupin," Sirius informed his colleagues. "Harry and Hermione are doing great running the club, however, due to the number of students, they need some assistance."

"Thank you all for your readiness to help out," Amelia said, leaning back in relief. "It means a lot to me that Susan gains a proper education at Hogwarts, and Defence is most important, especially since we don't know if Voldemort is really gone for good."

Glancing at her wrist watch, she almost groaned inwardly upon realising that there was no time left for the topic, which she had originally wanted to discuss. _'Oh well, next time then,'_ she thought, as she dismissed her staff and headed to her next meeting requested by the minister.

HP

"Yes! Sirius and two other Aurors will assist with the Defence club," Harry informed the students sitting around him at the Hufflepuff table, when Ceridwen brought a letter from Sirius at lunchtime.

"That's great," Susan replied, smiling, while Hermione happily squeezed Harry's right hand.

"Harry, maybe it's time for you to take action though," Cedric Diggory, a fourth-year, spoke up. "As the owner of Hogwarts, you're able to overwrite the headmaster's decisions, aren't you?"

"Yes," Harry admitted in a small voice. "I was trying to evade an open war with the headmaster though. Maybe I'll ask Professor McGonagall and Madam Bones for their opinion later on. I also have a meeting with Snape after the last afternoon class."

"I heard once that he was keen to become the Defence professor himself," Robert, a sixth-year, threw in.

"Well, if his performance equals that in the club from the day before yesterday, I surely don't mind," Cedric replied, eagerly.

'That's true, he'd make a good Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, but what about Remus?' Harry thought to Hermione, who nodded, knowingly.

HP

"I'd accept the position if it wasn't for the curse that the Dark Lord placed on it," Snape replied on Harry's question.

"The curse isn't a problem, as Hogwarts promised to ensure that a professor of my approval would be able to remain on the position as long as he or I wanted it," Harry replied, shortly. "However, we'd then be lacking a Potions Master, and we've heard that you're a brilliant one, plus we'd like to have Professor Lupin at Hogwarts as well."

"He's a werewolf," Snape countered, giving Harry a sharp look.

"He's not," Harry revealed part of his secret. "I'm in the possession of a cure for lycanthropy, and I'd be interested to work together with a Potions Master of the expertise like yours to cure the remaining werewolves."

Harry almost flinched back, when the professor's mood suddenly made a 180 degree turn.

"OUT! NOW!" Snape bellowed, pointing towards the door.

HP

In all of the seven study rooms, where the students were spending their evening instead of hanging around in their common rooms, the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor was once again the main topic of the evening.

"I can't believe that Dumbledore didn't say anything about Lockhart except from that he had an accident and that Defence classes would be cancelled for the time being," Draco spoke up in the first-year room. "Marcus Flint, our Quidditch captain, told me that he cast an obliviate spell at Harry that backfired and that he didn't know as much as his own name afterwards. If you ask me, he'll never be able to come back and teach anymore."

"Oh well, good riddance," Ron Weasley threw in.

"True," Susan agreed. "It's not as if we had learned a lot. Still, Dumbledore should tell us that he was gone and do everything to install a new professor as soon as possible."

"He probably doesn't want to hire Professor Lupin knowing that I want him," Harry spoke up. "He has exactly a day, before I will overwrite his inactivity and hire Lupin for Hogwarts."

HP

"Severus, you're incredibly stupid," Poppy told him, when she and Minerva visited the Potions Master in his quarters for tea like they often did in the evening to prevent him from spending all of his time alone.

"And why might that be?" Severus asked, knowing that Poppy was the only one allowed to say such a thing to him without himself feeling insulted.

"Harry has done nothing to you except for trusting you to a certain extent and speaking honestly with you," Poppy explained. "You must ask him to tell you his secret, which he will do if you swear a wizard's oath that you won't tell Albus anything of it. I'm sorry, but I'm bond to my own oath, so I won't be able to tell you anymore, just like Minerva."

"He even offered you a choice to either become the permanent Defence Against the Dark Arts professor or the Potions Master who can assist him curing the werewolves," Minerva added to her friend's tirade, seemingly incredulous.

"Both choices have their merit," Severus thought aloud, not sure for which he'd decide if he managed to get the choice again.

"I'm sure you'd receive the Order of Merlin first class if you managed to cure the werewolves," Poppy continued.

"How do I know that it's not all bluff?" Severus asked, although he had to admit to himself that his reaction was lame.

"Speak with him..."

"... And apologize," the two older witches, who were also his best and in fact sole real friends, instructed him.

HP

Harry raised an eyebrow in disbelief upon receiving a letter from the Potions Master at breakfast.

 _'Mr. Potter,  
I apologize for my atrocious behaviour yesterday. Upon hearing the most unbelievable story out of your mouth, my thoughts automatically travelled back to a time, when your father and I were classmates. It was the worst time in my life. However, this has nothing to do with you, thus my apology.  
I am willing to make my oath to keep your secrets if you were still willing to work together with me. I'll be waiting in my office after the last afternoon class.  
S.S.'_

HP

Upon hearing the full story from Harry with occasional inputs from Hermione, the professor remained pensive for a few minutes, before he voiced his opinion along with a suggestion.

"Since you've already taken your Potions NEWT in the past, there's no need to attend first-year classes again. My suggestion is that I hire you as my student assistant, which would give you the opportunity to assist me with the brewing of potions for the hospital wing during class time, so that we could spend a few hours each week brewing the wolvescure potion. At the same time, I'd teach you more difficult potions so that you'd be able to take your Potions Mastery in three years' time at the latest."

"I'd like that, sir," Harry replied, smiling, when a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Does the headmaster have to know about my Potions NEWT in order for me to be allowed to skip the first-year classes?"

"No," the Potions Master replied and promised that it would just be a matter between themselves, especially since the Deputy Headmistress was aware of the truth already.

Harry and the professor agreed to work together, and Snape promised to merely inform the deputy headmistress, as the headmaster's approval was not needed in Harry's case anyway.

"Sir, will you be willing to work together with Remus?" Harry finally asked, when they walked up to the Great Hall together on time for dinner.

"Of course," Snape replied, nodding his head in confirmation.

HP

As he entered the Great Hall together with the Slytherin head, Harry accompanied the professor to the head table, where he stood, turning around to face the students.

"Dear professors, dear students, please allow me a word," he began to speak, causing the fairly loud murmur in the Great Hall to decrease to absolute silence.

"Some of you might be aware of the fact that Hermione and I are the owners of Hogwarts and as such able to appoint and release professors."

Several students began to clap their hands, however, before the whole student body could join them, Harry asked for silence and continued, "Since Professor Lockhart was not only a fraud but will most likely be indisposed for the near future, I have appointed Remus Lupin to be our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor."

A huge tumultuous broke out coming from all house tables, making Harry smile. He once again called for silence. "Thank you all for agreeing with my decision. However, there is one point, which I wish to clarify." Seeing that everyone seemed to be hanging on his lips, he continued, "Professor Lupin was once a werewolf. However, together with my former Potions professor, I have developed a cure for lycanthropy and cured him. That means that he is not a werewolf anymore, even if there are some people unwilling to believe the truth. Don't believe them. Being around Professor Lupin even during the full moon is absolutely safe."

With that, he slightly inclined his head and strode over to the Slytherin table, where Hermione was sitting next to Millicent with an empty spot on her left side.

Before the headmaster, who was slumped in his chair openly displaying defeat, could even decide how to react, Snape rose from his chair. "Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Potter for a good decision. Mr. Lupin promises to be the most decent Defence Against the Dark Arts professor that Hogwarts has seen in many years," he announced, causing not only the students but also the headmaster to stare at the Potions Master in clear disbelief.

"I absolutely agree," McGonagall spoke up.

The headmaster slowly rose from his chair. "Mr. Potter, do you have any proof about this cure for lycanthropy?"

Harry once more made his way to the high table, where he addressed the healer. "Madam Pomfrey, you have checked on Remus Lupin after he was cured. Will you please confirm the result to the headmaster?"

Pomfrey smiled, as she announced that Remus Lupin was officially cured from lycanthropy.

"Poppy, we'd also like to contact St. Mungo's about this. From tomorrow onwards, Harry Potter will be my student assistant, and we'll try to brew as many doses of the wolvescure as needed to cure all the werewolves, on the condition that St. Mungo's provides the organisation for this," Snape informed the healer, who cast him a broad smile.

"Of course Severus, and I'll gladly assist with this wonderful project."

"Harry," McGonagall spoke up, ignoring the headmaster who looked as if he wanted to add a comment, "when will Professor Lupin be available?"

Harry glanced at his wrist watch and instead of a reply excused himself for a moment to apparate to Potter Manor, ask an excited looking Remus if he was ready and return to where exactly he had stood a minute ago with the older wizard in tow.

"Professor McGonagall," he finally replied, smiling, "I believe that Professor Lupin is available right away."

Huge applause drowned out all further conversation for a few minutes, while a defeated looking headmaster left the high table, muttering something like having to speak with the minister.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	19. Chapter 19

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

The Hogwarts students were outright happy to finally have a brilliant Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and the following months passed rather uneventfully. Harry and Hermione still continued their Defence club for those who wanted to learn some useful or more difficult spells, which were not part of the usual Defence curriculum, while Sirius and Tonks took turns assisting.

Apart from his defeated expression on the day of its announcement, Dumbledore had shown no reaction whatsoever to Harry's installation of the Defence professor, and so far, headmaster and student had not exchanged as much as a word with each other.

HP

It was shortly before the end of the school year that Amelia Bones finally managed to speak with Tonks, Sirius and Shacklebolt about her idea concerning the wards around the Ministry of Magic.

"A few months ago, Harry Potter asked the goblins to place wards around one of his manors," she began to speak and explained, "These wards won't let people in who are wearing the Dark Mark."

"A brilliant idea," Tonks spoke up, grinning.

"In fact, it was Sirius' idea," Amelia added. "Now I'd love to have such wards around the ministry. The only problem is that Fudge would never agree to them, first of all because of his so-called friendship with Lucius Malfoy and secondly because I'm afraid that he even might be a Death Eater himself."

"That might be, however, I believe that you could fully decide on the matter yourself," Shacklebolt threw in, "considering how many of the Death Eaters said that they only took the mark because they were under the Imperius curse. If we get to know who they are, which we will with such wards, we can easily question them under Veritaserum."

"That's true," Amelia agreed, pensively. "In that case, I wouldn't need the minister's concurrence."

"I have an idea," Sirius spoke up, thoughtfully. "What if we ask the goblins to arrange the wards in a way that Death Eaters will not be expelled by the wards but instead brought to one fixed room within the ministry that we keep outside the wards. We could put an alert onto the room, which informs the Aurors if someone ends up inside, so that they can go and question the person."

"Brilliant idea," Shacklebolt was the first to comment, "provided that they have to go through the wards to enter the ministry from that specific room."

"Of course," Sirius added, grinning.

"A wonderful idea, Sirius," Amelia agreed with her Aurors. "Thank you very much for your input. I'll instruct the goblins accordingly."

Still feeling slightly uncertain about going around the minister, Amelia spoke with a few selected persons who were members of the Wizengamot and definitely on the light side like Augusta Longbottom, Arthur Weasley and Amos Diggery. Everyone fully agreed with her plan and encouraged her to pull through with it as soon as possible.

HP

It was at breakfast before his end of year test in Transfiguration that Harry received a letter from Albus Dumbledore inviting him to an urgent meeting of the Wizengamot for eleven o'clock that very same morning. Harry glanced at the high table only to realise that the headmaster was not attending breakfast in the Great Hall for once.

His letter clutched in his right hand, he strode over to the high table, where he showed the letter to Professor McGonagall and enquired, "Is this a trap?"

The Gryffindor head stared at Harry with a combination of disbelief and amusement, before she replied, "No Harry, I know for a fact that Professor Dumbledore is going to be busy with Wizengamot matters the whole day, so I believe that this is a true invitation. You're of course excused from your Transfiguration test."

"Professor, would it be all right to bring Hermione?" Harry asked, not sure about the rules and commons of the magical world.

"As she is your wife, you're of course entitled to bring her along, alas, only one of you will be able to vote. Since it's the first time for you to attend a Wizengamot meeting, you're going to be introduced to the other members and you'll be told how many votes you have," the professor replied, before she pulled a small parchment out of her robe pocket, handing it to Harry.

"Since I'm not able to attend, this is the confirmation slip that allows you to vote on my behalf," she explained in a small voice, only to add, "Normally, I used to give my vote to the headmaster, however, recently, I'm not overly convinced of his opinions, so I decided to ask you instead today."

Harry stared at the professor, wide-eyed, before he said, "Thank you so much, Professor. I'll try to vote like you'd want me to."

"I'm certain of that," McGonagall replied, giving him an encouraging look.

HP

Before Harry had even reached Hermione to break the news and head to the ministry, Sirius appeared in the Great Hall looking for his godson and goddaughter.

"Let's go and speak somewhere for a few minutes," he told the students, who gratefully agreed.

They led the older wizard into the first-year study room, which was the first room that came into Harry's mind, and Sirius provided the children with much needed information about some of the traditions of the magical world.

"It seems that several people, in fact more than expected, in the Ministry of Magic turned out to be Death Eaters," he also informed them. "Even Fudge, the minister, apparently was one, and the Aurors are now busy questioning all the persons rejected by the new wards under Veritaserum. Today's urgent meeting has the purpose of electing a new minister."

HP

Ten minutes before the beginning of the Wizengamot meeting, Harry and Hermione turned themselves invisible and Harry grabbed Sirius' hand, knowing that his godfather would then be invisible as well, before they apparated straight into the Ministry of Magic. They quickly walked around the nearest corner to make themselves visible, before they entered the room, where the meeting was going to take place.

When Harry and Hermione followed Sirius into the room, Dumbledore introduced them as Mr. and Miss Potter, before he informed Harry that Hermione was not entitled to accompany him to the meeting, as she was not in any relation to house Potter, even if she had for some reason changed her name to Potter.

"Hermione is my wife, and as the Lady Potter-Slytherin-Gryffindor she is very well entitled to join me for the meeting," Harry replied in a cold voice, telepathically instructing Hermione to make her wedding ring visible while he did the same with his own ring.

"My apology, Lord Potter," Dumbledore replied, seemingly stunned at the revelation, before he continued, "You have three votes, namely those of the houses Potter, Gryffindor and Slytherin."

"Four," Harry corrected him, smirking, as he pulled the parchment from McGonagall out of his robe pocket. "Professor McGonagall asked me to vote on her behalf today."

"Ah my boy, but I'm sure this must be a mistake," Dumbledore said in his grandfatherly voice, pocketing the parchment without even looking at it. "Professor McGonagall always gives her vote to me."

"Who would give her vote to a mere child?" Umbridge spoke up, causing Harry and Hermione to glare at the unsympathetic woman in pink robes.

"Miss Umbridge," Sirius spoke up in a cold voice. "If you had listened properly, you'd have understood that my godson is the head of the noble ancient houses of Potter, Slytherin and Gryffindor. He is also married to the Lady Potter-Slytherin-Gryffindor, and as such both are recognised as adults in the magical world." With that he pulled Harry and Hermione with them to sit at the other end of the large table, where only two thirds of the seats were occupied.

HP

"The Department of Magical Law Enforcement has taken drastic measures to find out and question all Death Eaters, and it appears that many members of the Wizengamot were affected by this, including Minister Fudge," Dumbledore finally opened the meeting. "We came here together to elect a new Minister of Magic. I would be willing to take the position if there weren't any other candidates. Does anyone have a suggestion for someone from our midst?"

Determined to give Dumbledore and Umbridge what they deserved, Harry rose from his seat. "I suggest Amelia Bones," he said in a firm voice.

"Em em," the voice that Harry came close to select as his most hated voice spoke up, "Mr. Potter, we neither need nor want the opinions of a mere eleven-year-old. Even if you call yourself an adult, you're nothing but an attention seeking brat."

Harry chose to merely ignore the insult, and surprisingly, it was Augusta Longbottom, who rushed to his help.

"Miss Umbridge, Lord Potter is a full member of the Wizengamot," she said in a cold voice, before adding, "As to Lord Potter's suggestion, I fully agree. Amelia Bones would make a wonderful Minister of Magic."

"I agree," Sirius and Amos Diggory simultaneously voiced their opinion.

"Very well, let's vote then," Dumbledore decided.

Even if only three of Harry's four votes were recognised, Amelia won over Dumbledore who was the only other candidate for the position of the minister.

'Thank Merlin,' Harry thought to his wife. 'At least we can fully trust her.'

Huge applause came up, when Amelia rose to thank everyone who had voted for her and finally added, "Thank you Harry for suggesting me."

Harry and Hermione both smiled at the new minister. "Congratulations Minister," Harry spoke up, before he continued, "I'm sorry, but I'd immediately like to bother you with something. In your position as the Minister of Magic, could you please take Professor McGonagall's parchment from Professor Dumbledore and confirm that she has explicitly given her vote to me today?"

Amelia turned to the head of the Wizengamot holding out her hand. "Albus," she said in a stern voice, causing Dumbledore to grudgingly hand over the parchment.

"It clearly states that Lord Potter-Gryffindor-Slytherin is entitled to vote on behalf of the Lady Minerva McGonagall," Amelia Bones said, sounding very upset. Turning away from the head of the Wizengamot viewing the other members, she decided, "Lord Sirius Black will be my successor as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Sirius, please make a full investigation into this matter. The Wizengamot needs a head whom we can fully trust. No manipulations will be tolerated here."

Harry rose from his chair. "Maybe the Wizengamot needs a new head, just like Hogwarts needs a new headmaster. Since I'm the owner of Hogwarts, I'd like to ask the members here if anyone would be willing to become the new headmaster or headmistress at Hogwarts."

"Enough now," Umbridge bellowed. "I make the application that Mr. Potter and his child wife will be excluded from the Wizengamot immediately."

Amelia Bones glared at the undersecretary to the Minister of Magic. "First of all, Miss Umbridge, I'd like to ask you to come to my office first thing tomorrow morning to discuss your further employment in some other department within the Ministry of Magic. Secondly, there is no valid reason whatsoever to ban Lord and Lady Potter from the Wizengamot."

"Em em." Umbridge apparently did not know when it was time to stop arguing. "I request that only members who have a certain education, marked by completed OWLs and NEWTs are allowed on the Wizengamot. Albus Dumbledore is a recipient of the Order of Merlin and a professor. He doesn't have an eleven-year-old attention seeking brat to have tell him what to do."

"I have known Harry Potter for a year now," Augusta Longbottom spoke up, seemingly angered. "I have also heard from my grandson what Harry has achieved at Hogwarts during this year. He completely got rid of the rivalry between the houses, has installed a wonderful Defence Against the Dark Arts professor who will not be forced to succumb to the curse that Voldemort placed on the position, and he's the founder of a most amazing Defence club, in which ninety percent of the school participates. Apart from this, he's been curing dozens of werewolves during this time."

"Thank you, Lady Longbottom," Harry replied, smiling, before he turned to Umbridge and replied in a cold voice, not caring to finally let out the secret. "Too bad Miss Umbridge that I have already completed my OWLs and NEWTs and also received the Order of Merlin first class before being de-aged to eleven again."

Seeing everyone stare at him in disbelief, he called Gina, the head house-elf of Potter Manor, and instructed her to fetch his and Hermione's OWL and NEWT certificates from a drawer in the office at Potter Manor as well as a chocolate card of himself.

An instant later, the house-elf brought the requested items, and Harry handed them to Amelia Bones.

Letting her eyes wander over the parchments, Amelia announced, "Lord and Lady Potter have completed their OWLs and NEWTs at the time of the founders of Hogwarts, and Lord Potter has received the Order of Merlin first class for his invention of the wolvescure potion together with Salazar Slytherin."

"There are lots of werewolves in our time. Why don't you cure them?" Amos Diggery queried, turning to Harry.

"I am already working together with Professor Snape and the head healer of St. Mungo's to brew as many batches of the wolvescure potion, which St. Mungo's is offering to the werewolves. We've already cured about two hundred werewolves during the last six months."

"Very well, and why has this information not been provided to the Wizengamot?" Amos Diggory asked again.

Harry shrugged. "Head healer O'Brien has contacted Minister Fudge a few months ago, and I've suggested to ask the minister to award Professor Snape the Order of Merlin for healing the werewolves, considering that I already received it in the past, however, according to healer O'Brien, the minister did not show any reaction whatsoever."

"Scrupulous," Augusta Longbottom spoke up, and several other members nodded their agreement.

"I shall see to it that Professor Snape will be properly rewarded," Amelia Bones promised. "I guess that you don't want to receive the same award again, Harry?" she then queried, causing Harry to smile.

"No thank you, Minister," he replied, while his chocolate frog card made its way around the table.

"I'll think about something else for you then," Amelia said, decisively. "Now back to the matter of the headmaster of Hogwarts question. Harry, are you sure that Professor McGonagall would not like to become the headmistress?"

"Absolutely certain," Harry confirmed. "She told me she'd prefer to teach Transfiguration and remain the deputy headmistress. Therefore, I'd like to ask again if any of you would be willing to take the position." He glanced around the room, noticing that everyone stared at him, most of them with expressions of clear amazement. _'Thank Merlin the Death Eaters are all gone,'_ he thought.

"Lady Longbottom?" Harry then suggested, questioningly.

"If you deem me adequate for the position, I'll gladly accept, provided that Professor McGonagall would be willing to work together with me," Augusta Longbottom replied, sounding surprised.

"I've already spoken with Professor McGonagall about you as a possible candidate, and she told me that she'd appreciate it very much," Harry confirmed, smiling.

"Congratulations Augusta," Amelia added. "I'm looking forward to working together with you."

HP

Since the election of Amelia Bones, Dumbledore had remained completely quiet in spite of being the head of the Wizengamot. _'He's probably worrying to lose that position as well,'_ Harry thought, feeling no sympathy for the old wizard.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	20. Chapter 20

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

"Harry," Dumbledore finally spoke up, "I have two questions." Apparently realising that he held the boy's attention, he continued, "Why did you let yourselves be de-aged in spite of having finished Hogwarts already?"

"Because we knew that I have to fight Voldemort in this time," Harry replied in a soft voice. "From Rowena's visions, we were also aware of the fact that you were going to hire a professor who was possessed by Voldemort during my first Hogwarts year. Your second question, sir?" he asked, seeing that the old wizard seemed deep in thought.

"What did I do for you to hate me so much?" the head of the Wizengamot asked, bluntly.

Harry scowled. "You mean apart from ignoring my parents' will and placing me with an abusive family, while you left my godfather in Azkaban in spite of knowing about his innocence, stealing from my account over a decade and then bringing Voldemort to Hogwarts when I was a first-year?"

Sirius rose from his seat. "I shall review the whole matter, Dumbledore. You can ready yourself to face a trial sometime this year."

With that the meeting ended, and Harry and Hermione were relieved to be able to return to Hogwarts.

HP

They arrived just on time for the beginning of the practical Transfiguration test. While they were waiting for their names to be called, they informed their classmates that from the next school year onwards, Madam Longbottom was going to be the new headmistress and that Amelia Bones had been elected to be the new Minister of Magic.

"My gran?" Neville asked, his eyes almost popping out of his head in absolute surprise.

"My aunt is the new minister?" Susan repeated in clear disblief.

"Yes and yes to both," Hermione confirmed, smiling, as she added, "Both of them were suggested by Harry."

HP

The new Minister of Magic held a stern conversation with the head of the Wizengamot and her successor as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Albus," she said in a firm voice, "while I'm the minister, there won't be any manipulations, just so you know. You're lucky that Harry didn't insist having you replaced right away due to what you did with Minerva's vote."

Dumbledore pensively popped a lemon drop into his mouth, before he replied, calmly. "None of the members here are aware of the full truth concerning Harry and Voldemort." Ignoring Amelia's upset expression, he continued, "In fact, there's a prophecy involved as well as Horcruxes that Voldemort has made, and Harry must die before anyone will be able to get rid of Voldemort."

"Rubbish," Sirius replied in a firm voice. "Harry has, and I know that he's informed you of the matter, already got rid of the Horcruxes.

Dumbledore shook his head. "He'd be dead if he attempted to get rid of the one behind his scar," he insisted.

"You'll hear from me," Sirius informed the old wizard, before he left the room together with Amelia Bones.

"Sirius, will you please ask Harry about the matter?" Amelia asked, her voice laced with concern.

"I will and I'll inform you," her successor as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement promised.

HP

 _'I wonder if that's true,'_ the spirit thought. _'If Potter had really god rid of all my Horcruxes, I'd probably know. That would be horrible. I'd be mortal again like everyone else. I wonder what happened to my Death Eaters apart from the fact that they're not able to access the ministry anymore. Have they been shipped to Azkaban? Maybe I should hurry to get a body now, so that I can help them out and back to their former life and glory. The question is whom to possess, considering that none of my followers is here right now. Maybe Black,'_ he thought, _'the new head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. That's just the right position, and his family, even his brother Regulus were all on my side, so maybe I can even agree with him without having to force him.'_

With these thoughts in mind, the spirit left to finally find a quiet corner to rest and sort his idea before he would take action first thing in the morning.

HP

Like every other day, Harry spent the evening in the Potions Master's lab.

At first, Harry had been sceptical due to the professor's bad reputation that he possessed in all houses but Slytherin and because he was carrying the Dark Mark on his arm. Snape had been equally dubious about working together with a Potter.

However, by now they had both become used to each other, and both of them could not deny that they liked brewing in each other's company. From time to time, they even enjoyed some tea together after a long evening of brewing and talked about this or that.

On this evening, Harry told the professor about the Wizengamot meeting. While everyone at Hogwarts had seemed very pleased to hear that Amelia Bones had become the new Minister of Magic, the news that there was going to be a change in the headmaster's office of Hogwarts had not made it through the castle yet. Harry had merely informed the first-years and Professor McGonagall but sworn everyone to secrecy intending to announce the matter at the Leaving Feast and not earlier to not make it unnecessarily hard for Professor Dumbledore.

Nevertheless, Harry let Snape in on the secret, taking the older wizard's promise that he would not speak with anyone about it except for, if necessary, with Professor McGonagall.

To his surprise, the Slytherin head seemed outright shocked at the news, and Harry enquired what the problem was.

Apparently knowing that Harry would usually listen patiently and not spill secrets all over Hogwarts, Snape told the boy everything about his time as Death Eater, the prophecy that he had overheard, the shock upon realising that it concerned his best friend and her family and finally his activities as a spy for Dumbledore.

"If not for Dumbledore, I might have or still could end up in Azkaban," he finished his explanation in a small voice, an expression of defeat on his face.

"Professor," Harry said in a soft voice, "everyone makes mistakes. What you did was a big one, but you tried to remedy it as well as possible. I promise that I'll support you, and if something happens, now that they're just looking for remaining Death Eaters, I'll speak with my godfather. He's the new head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and if I convince him that you've done enough to make up for your mistakes in the past, he'll leave you in peace."

"Black is the head of the DMLE?" Snape queried, quirking an eyebrow in apparent surprise.

"Yes, and he also knows that the Wizengamot decided today to award you the Order of Merlin for curing the werewolves," Harry replied, smiling. "So don't worry, sir. You have nothing to fear even if Professor Dumbledore leaves Hogwarts and maybe even ceases to be the head of the Wizengamot in the near future."

Twenty minutes later, Harry left a very thoughtful Potions Master to return to the founders' quarters.

HP

The spirit was in a good mood as he roamed the empty corridors of the Ministry of Magic in expectation of what was going to happen shortly.

 _'Black,'_ he suddenly spotted the body that he intended to possess. _'We're going to have fun together,'_ he thought as he readied himself. Just when Black opened the connecting door leading to the neighbouring department, he jumped, only realising too late that it had not been Black to step through the door, which he was holding open for a colleague.

 _'Oh no,'_ he thought, horrified, as he decided to keep quiet and ponder his situation before making himself known to the owner of the body, where he made himself as comfortable as possible in the back of the head. It was not as if he did not have experience.

HP

Amelia Bones let out a long sigh, as she waited for her third visitor this morning. First she had spoken with Sirius about the questioning of the remaining Death Eaters, then she had to inform Arthur Weasley about her intentions to assign Dolores Umbridge a minor position in his department, and now she was waiting for the usually pink-robed witch to show up.

Amelia usually liked people, everyone except for Death Eaters and criminals, however, Dolores Umbridge was the only witch whom she disliked with a passion. There was no more annoying witch in the whole universe let alone inside the ministry.

Of course, Arthur had been anything but happy about her decision, however, Amelia had seen to it that his salary would be increased to show her gratefulness and understanding about the matter. Finally, Arthur had accepted the challenge, especially when she promised to place Umbridge elsewhere if the situation became unacceptable for Arthur and his department.

 _'Probably only a question of time,'_ she mused, as she readied herself for a most unpleasant knock at her door.

HP

Dolores took the offered seat in the new minister's office, already missing Fudge. He had been a great boss. She tried to concentrate on Bones' words, however, she had to admit to herself that she felt weird. _'Maybe it's only knowing that I won't like whatever she tells me,'_ she thought, as she rubbed her temples in a faint attempt to keep her headache at bay.

"Miss Umbridge, are you listening at all?" Bones asked in a stern voice.

"Of course I'm listening," Dolores replied, somehow managing to produce a feigned smile to her face.

"Please report to Arthur Weasley for further instructions then," the minister concluded whatever she had been telling Dolores.

"Arthur Weasley?" Dolores repeated, her voice laced with disgust.

"Yes. As I said, you're going to work in his department from today onwards," Bones replied, seemingly impatient.

"The Department for Muggle artefacts?" Dolores blurted out, horrified. "I'm a pureblood in case you haven't noticed.

"As is Arthur Weasley," Bones confirmed. "I will accept your resignation at any time. Good day."

Dolores wearily left the room, wondering if the day could get any worse, only to soon get to realise that it definitely could.

HP

Knowing that they would still have to continue brewing the wolvescure potion, Harry asked Snape about his plans for the holidays on the evening before the leaving feast.

"I'll be at Hogwarts the whole time," Snape replied, matter-of-factly and offered to brew the potion by himself if Harry had other plans for the holidays.

Harry remained pensive for a moment, before he replied, "We haven't spoken with our parents yet, but we'd like to spend the first month in the time of the founders, and for the last two weeks, we've invited all our classmates to Gryffindor Manor. So during the last four weeks, I could come here and assist, even if only for a few hours each day."

A small smile played on the Potions Master's lips, as he reassured Harry that one batch a day over four weeks were much more than nothing. "How are you going to travel to the time of the founders if I may enquire?" he finally asked.

"I'm able to make time travel Portkeys," Harry replied, before he offered, "Would you perhaps like to join us, sir? I can imagine that Salazar would be thrilled to have you there and learn a lot about modern potions."

"I'd like that very much," Snape replied, seeming uncharacteristically excited at the idea.

HP

Finally, Dan, Emma and Remus also decided to join Snape and the children, while Sirius was not able to take such a long holiday just after becoming head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

"Next year, I'll go with you," he promised, grinning.

Harry and Hermione also asked Professor McGonagall, however, the deputy headmistress decided to take turns with Snape remaining at Hogwarts, especially during this summer, while there was no active headmaster or headmistress at Hogwarts. They had agreed with Augusta Longbottom that she would move to Hogwarts on the first of August, while Neville was going to join Harry and Hermione and spend the rest of the holidays with them wherever they would be before their classmates were going to come to Gryffindor Manor.

HP

Before leaving for the past, Harry and Hermione paid Professor McGonagall a short visit.

"Oh, are you already missing Hogwarts?" she asked with a rare smile on her lips.

"No Professor," Harry replied, smiling, "especially not as we're going to return to Hogwarts in the time of her founding tomorrow." He pulled a small parchment out of his robe pocket and handed it to the teacher, explaining, "In case there will be a Wizengamot meeting, we wanted to give you our vote for the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw house. The votes for the houses of Potter and Slytherin-Hufflepuff we've given to Sirius, otherwise, he'd surely be disappointed," he added, smirking.

The professor was clearly amazed, as she thanked them profusely stating that she'd be honoured to vote for the Gryffindor house on their behalf, even if she did not think that there would be a Wizengamot meeting during the next month. "Oh well, one never knows," she added, as she saw her soon-to-be second year students out.

HP

When Harry and Hermione arrived in the past with their parents, Remus and Severus Snape, they were more than happy to be back just one year after they had previously taken their NEWTs.

'I like this time much more than our own time,' Hermione thought to Harry, who returned an unobtrusive nod.

'On the one hand yes, but on the other hand, I'm glad how we managed to make slight changes to the magical world in our time, for the better I hope,' he thought back, while he allowed Ceridwen to pull him into a bear's hug.

"Gawain and I have married six months ago, and we're expecting a baby," Ceridwen blurted out, causing Harry and Hermione to smile happily for their best friend of the past. When the young witch continued, "Would you mind us calling her Hermione after you?" Hermione's smile only intensified.

"Of course dear, and I'm sure that we're going to return the favour sometime in the future," Hermione replied, happily, thinking to Harry, 'Maybe we should better not let her know that we called our owl after her.' She then turned to the founders and introduced Remus and Severus as well as her parents.

"You're all teachers at Hogwarts in the future?" Godric asked, seemingly pleased to have so many guests from the future.

It was again Hermione who was the first to reply. "Remus here is the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, the best that Hogwarts of our time has seen in ages, even Hogwarts told Harry as much, Severus Snape is the Potions Master and Slytherin head, and he's said to be the best Potions Master since Salazar. My father is the professor for Muggle Studies, he's a Muggle though, and my mother has only recently found out that she's a witch and is studying together with us."

"A Muggle at Hogwarts?" Salazar asked in apparent disbelief. "We shall remedy that right away."

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	21. Chapter 21

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

"Excuse me sir," Hermione replied, alert, "remedy?"

While Harry already reached into his robe pocket for a cork, glad that he always managed to accidentally bury some in his pockets, to make a Portkey back to the future, Salazar chuckled.

"Remedy means give him magic," he explained, matter-of-factly. "Don't you agree that your father would be much more comfortable here if he possessed magic?"

"Yes of course, but how?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"Nothing simpler than that," Salazar informed her. "Helga, can you check if Harry's blood is compatible with that of his father-in-law? If so, Harry could give your father a blood transfusion, and the chance that your father will be a wizard afterwards lies at ninety-five percent."

With two flicks of her wand, Helga confirmed that Harry's blood should be compatible with that of Dan Granger. "In most cases, a wizard's blood is compatible with that of a Muggle," she told Dan, who gave her an anxious look.

"Helga, are you sure that there won't be any unfortunate after-effects?" Hermione asked in concern, however, relaxed, when the healer shook her head.

"If that worked so easily, why wouldn't give more magical people blood to Muggles to simply raise the magical population or to their children who would be Squibs otherwise?" Remus enquired in apparent surprise.

Salazar smirked. "It's not that easy," he replied with a sneer on his face. "For the transfusion to work in such a way, it needs a strong bond like a family bond, however, it must not be a blood relationship in the first place. Harry and Dan have such a strong bond, which is not based on blood, due to their relationship as father-in-law and son-in-law," he explained with uncharacteristic patience.

"Harry, if you don't mind, I'd like to try," Dan spoke up, giving his son-in-law an assessing look.

"Of course," Harry agreed, smiling. "It would be so cool if it worked."

"Who dare you imply that my invention could not work?" Salazar asked in a grumpy yet playful voice."

"I'd never do such a thing," Harry replied, grinning, before he turned to Helga and suggested to go on with it right away.

HP

Needless to say that Dan and Emma were extremely happy to be able to study under the founders together. Dan's magic was not very strong, however, Salazar reassured him that it would become stronger over the time, and Helga assessed that Emma's was not fully developed yet either, since it had only manifested a relatively short time ago.

While Salazar and Severus spent most of the time in the potions lab, unaware of the world around them, the other three founders took turns teaching Harry, Hermione, Remus, Emma and Dan. Harry sometimes joined the Potions Masters, at other times, he practised sword fighting with Hermione and Godric.

"You really need to practise more," Godric informed them, sounding very displeased with their performance.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have Sword Fighting in the future, and we don't have anyone who'd be able to teach us," Harry apologized, although he knew that it was a lame excuse, as he had meant to ask Buckbean for help in the matter. He just had not got around to do so during the school year.

"As soon as we're back in the future, we'll ask the goblins if they can teach us," Hermione promised, as she proceeded to polish her sword.

HP

The evenings were mostly spent in Helga's and Salazar's quarters like it had always been since Harry and Hermione had first come to the time of the founders.

Harry was almost disappointed that Rowena did not have any new visions for him, especially since he knew that Voldemort was still alive, however, had no idea if all of the Horcruxes had been destroyed let alone where Voldemort was.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but I didn't have any visions recently due to some potion that Helga made me drink to suppress the visions," she explained sighing, before promising to not take the potion anymore in order to be able to advise Harry again the next summer. "If I have any news before that, I'll send Godric to your time," she added, smirking.

HP

Too fast for Harry's liking, the four weeks of their holiday in the past was over, and, as tempting as it was to just remain in the past, they had to return to the future to take the adults back. _'And to try getting rid of Voldemort, however that'll be possible,'_ Harry thought in annoyance.

He was just fingering for one of the corks in his robe pocket, when Godric handed him a stone. "Here, I've already made the Portkey for you," he said with a mischievous smirk playing on his face.

Harry eyed the stone with interest. It was a small stone considering that six persons had to touch it to use the Portkey together, and it was full with runes.

"Excuse me, Godric, but what is this?" he asked in confusion.

"Show me," Hermione said, taking the stone out of his hand. However, even the girl who had managed to receive top grades in her Runes NEWT was unable to decipher the meaning behind the runes on the stone.

"No idea," she said, shrugging as she returned the stone.

Godric grinned. "It's my own invention, my birthday present for you in fact," he explained, seemingly proud. "If you attach this stone to your sword, it'll not only work as a sword but also like a wand, means you'll be able to cast spells with your sword. I thought it might come in handy in your fight against that evil wizard in your time."

"Did you think you'd manage to get away without having a birthday party?" Rowena spoke up and led the small group into the Great Hall, where Harry found himself face-to-face with an enormous birthday cake in form of Hogwarts.

'My birthday?' Harry thought to Hermione, raising an eyebrow in surprise. 'I didn't even think of it,' he added, causing a knowing grin to appear on his wife's face.

Only after Harry had eaten a huge piece of the cake, being told that it was Godric's office, the time travellers were allowed to leave. While Hermione made the Portkey, as it was obvious that Godric's stone was nothing more than a birthday present, Harry was presented with two arms full of beautifully wrapped presents.

"Open them in the future," Helga instructed him, apparently realising that Harry was eager to leave.

It was not that he wanted to leave at all, however, he always felt extremely excited before time travelling, somehow afraid to end up in some dubious time, especially this time when travelling with his parents-in-law and two professors who were not able to return to their own time if the group got separated for some reason.

To his relief, Hermione chose a fairly large book as the Portkey, which would make it easy for six people to hold on to it.

Just before Hermione activated the Portkey, Godric pressed a branch into his hand, to which a relatively large wooden box was fastened tightly. Before Harry could do as much as enquire about its content, Hermione activated the Portkey, so that he could only hold on tightly to the book as well as to the box.

By the time the fast movement stopped and he was able to take in his surroundings, he noticed in surprise that they found themselves on the beach of Gryffindor Manor. However, they were not alone. Harry had the impression as if almost everyone whom he knew in the magical world of the future was assembled on the beach including his godfather and the Minister of Magic.

HP

'What are they all doing here?' Harry thought to his wife, for the moment forgetting about the large box in his hand.

'They've come for your birthday party, dear,' Hermione thought back, grinning at his stunned expression.

Amelia Bones was the first to reach the six time travellers. "Welcome back and a very happy birthday, Harry," she said, smiling.

"Thank you very much," Harry replied, dazed. "But how..."

"Happy Birthday, godson," Sirius said as he joined the group. "While your wife already invited your classmates for the birthday party, I felt I had to extend the party a little due to some important decisions made by the Wizengamot last week."

"Harry, before you let all these people hug you, you should probably take care of that box first," Remus spoke up, pointing to the wooden box, which had small holes all over the wood that could make one believe that it was some kind of animal box.

"Oh right," Harry agreed and put the box onto the ground, only now realising how heavy it had been.

 _'I hope it's nothing dangerous,'_ he thought, glancing over his party guests, who were by now assembled in a large circle around Harry and his small group. Very carefully, he lifted the lid just a little bit to peer inside, only to completely open the box right away.

"A griffin cub," Hermione blurted out, staring at the baby animal in amazement.

Making some space around himself, Harry immediately transformed into his griffin form and addressed the cub.

=Hello there,= he cooed. =Will you become my familiar?=

=I'd lub dat,= the baby griffin replied, and an instant later, Harry felt the griffin's thought in his head. 'I've bonded myself to you.'

=That's great. Thanks a lot. Do you have a name?= Harry enquired, causing his new familiar to deny. =How about Godric?= Harry then suggested, thinking of his and Hermione's owl, Ceridwen.

=I'd like that,= the griffin replied. =It was Godric who promised me to find a familiar for me. He was a changer like you and could speak with me, too.=

=Very well then, you're Godric,= Harry confirmed, before he asked, =Can you understand me even if I'm in my human form?=

=Yes, I understand you, because I'm bonded with you.=

Nodding contentedly, Harry transformed back to his human form, before he introduced his new familiar to his family and friends.

"A griffin, how amazing," McGonagall was the first to speak up. "Won't he be lonely here though, considering that there aren't any other griffins in this time?"

"Yes, that's true," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "Maybe I should go back and fetch a friend for him as soon as possible."

"Let's do that," Hermione agreed, gently petting the griffin's head.

"Harry, I'm sorry if this is a strange question, but have you ever thought of registering your Animagus form?" Amelia spoke up, seemingly hesitating.

"Right, we all should do that," Sirius threw in, causing Harry and Hermione to laugh.

"If the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement isn't even registered..." Harry said, chuckling. 'The problem is that we have multiple forms,' he thought to Hermione. 'So which one are we going to register?'

"Excuse me, Minister," Hermione asked in a small voice, "what if we have more than one form? Do we have to register them all or only one?"

Seeing Harry nod, Amelia Bones sighed. "Leave it to the two of you to achieve what other people don't even think about, like having multiple Animagus forms. I suggest registering the form which you use the most frequently."

"That would be our phoenix forms then," Harry decided, glancing at his wife, who nodded her agreement.

"What do we need to do to get registered then?" Hermione enquired, making the minister smile.

"I'll send you the respective parchments," she promised, before she stepped back, allowing Harry's friends to turn on Harry to congratulate him and pull him into hugs.

"Thank you all so much," Harry finally said, after the whole soon-to-be second-year class as well as Augusta Longbottom and a few other members of the Wizengamot as well as the Hogwarts professors were finished with their greetings. _'I wonder if the house-elves were planning to serve some cake,'_ he thought, glancing at Hermione, who remained strangely quiet.

"Trulla," he called the head house-elf of Gryffindor Manor, "will we be having tea and some cake here on the beach?"

"Yes, Master Harry, however, we'll be serving tea and your birthday cake on the ship," Trulla replied, causing Harry to stare at the small elf in disbelief.

 _'Ship? What ship?'_ Harry wondered, however, before he could enquire about the matter, a small boat anchoring on the edge of the beach came into view. It was completely white and was decorated with the names Gryffindor and Slytherin each on one side as well as Potter at the front and back sides.

The ship consisted of two floors, of which one was inside surrounded by windows, while the deck was only partly covered by a roof, while the rest seemed to invite for sun and wind bathing.

"Come on, Harry and Hermione, let's have a look," Sirius instructed his godchildren, making Harry stare at the older wizard, questioningly.

"Fine, but not even our second-year class is going to fit in, let alone everyone else," he said in confusion, causing his godfather to chuckle.

"Already forgot about magic?" Sirius grinned and led the birthday boy into the small boat, which, once seen from inside, turned out to be of a size large enough to accommodate the whole student body of Hogwarts.

When Harry climbed up to the second floor, closely followed by his wife, his godfather and all of his birthday guests, he realised that everything for his birthday party was already prepared on the ship's deck. As soon as he took a seat, coffee and tea appeared on the tables, while a huge birthday cake in the form of the ship came into view on a table in the middle of the deck. On an adjacent table, colourful presents were piled up.

"Sorry Sirius, but how..." Harry stammered, before he trailed off, noticing that Amelia Bones, Augusta Longbottom, Amos Diggory, Professor McGonagall as well as Susan and Neville took seats at their table.

"Amos?" Sirius asked, grinning broadly.

"Very well, Lord Potter-Gryffindor-Slytherin," Diggory began to speak, only to be interrupted by Harry.

"Please just call me Harry sir."

"All right Harry," the older wizard agreed and continued, "several of the members of the Wizengamot have worked together to build this ship using magic. This is our gift to you from Britain's magical world, as we did not want to award you the Order of Merlin first class for the second time. Amelia?" he turned to the minister, who nodded, comfortingly.

"We have, however, decided to ask you for a huge favour," the Minister of Magic took over. "Lord Black as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement has done some research on Albus Dumbledore's actions over the last decade and has set up a trial for Dumbledore, which is going to take place on the thirty-first of August. Therefore, we have decided..."

'All of this is so confusing,' Harry thought to Hermione, 'a ship from the people of the Wizengamot, then Dumbledore gets a trial, what does one have to do with the other? He looked up in surprise when huge applause marked the end of the Minister's speech. _'Oh no, I missed the rest of it,'_ he realised, giving his wife a questioning look.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	22. Chapter 22

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

'They want you to become the head of the Wizengamot,' Hermione thought back, smiling.

"What?" Harry blurted out in shock. "Excuse me Minister, but..."

"Harry," McGonagall interrupted him with one of her rare smiles playing on her lips. "We believe that you'll make a wonderful head of the Wizengamot, and we can promise you that you're not alone. We'll all be there to assist if you need us."

"Exactly," Augsta Longbottom agreed with her long-time friend.

"You'll do great, Harry," Neville confirmed, while Susan nodded eagerly.

"I'm sorry," Harry said, feeling totally overwhelmed at the sudden request. "I feel very honoured, but it's so sudden. May I please think about it for a few days?"

"Of course," Amelia conceded. "Will it be enough if we give you time until a Wizengamot meeting right before Dumbledore's trial? We'd like to have the new head of the Wizengamot fixed by then."

"All right," Harry agreed, giving Hermione an uncertain glance.

'Don't worry Harry, you'll do fine,' his wife thought to him, comfortingly.

HP

The spirit knew that he had made many mistakes during his life as a human, however, his latest mistake was definitely the worst that he had ever happened to make. _'How could I be so stupid and fail to possess Black?'_ he thought, groaning at the realisation that he'd forever be stuck with the stupid toad like woman.

As if the pink robes that she was wearing weren't abominable enough, he developed a strong headache, even if he wasn't even in the possession of a head, as soon as the bitch opened her mouth to speak in her intolerable voice.

Apparently, the timing had been the worst possible as well. Just after he joined her body, she had had a meeting with the Minister of Magic, one of the blood traitors, and had been fired from her previous position. _'Too bad,'_ Tom thought. _'A high position within the Ministry would be much better than a minor position in the department of Muggle artefacts.'_ He had accompanied her to Arthur Weasley, another blood traitor, who had become her new boss.

However, Umbridge had only made it to her new department once, before she had decided to take a sick day, which turned to become a week and then two, during which he had tried to take over her body multiple times, however, without any success.

He had spoken to the bitch, clearly expecting her to be excited to be able to serve the Dark Lord come back to his former life and glory, however, the bitch had merely demanded that he should leave her body, stating that she was a senior member of the Ministry of Magic and that she should have at least been asked beforehand.

'I'm the Dark Lord. I don't have to ask anyone,' he growled at her, making her hold her head in apparent agony. 'Believe me, if I could, I'd leave right away and look for some more adequate person to possess than an arrogant bitch with almost no magical abilities whatsoever.'

 _'Stupid bitch. She's even worse than me, she hates everyone,'_ he thought upon witnessing a conversation between Umbridge and Bones, during which Umbridge threw a temper tantrum about the last Wizengamot meeting that she had missed due to feigning sick.

HP

Harry and Hermione thoroughly enjoyed the second half of their summer holidays. Together with Dan and Emma, Sirius, Remus and Neville, they stayed at Gryffindor Manor, before the rest of their classmates joined them for the last two weeks.

To their great enthusiasm, Sirius had hired someone to come and teach Harry, Dan, himself and one of the house-elves how to manoeuvre the ship, so that they were able to make excursions by ship whenever they wished.

"This is much fun," Harry said to his wife. "Why don't you try it out?"

"No thanks," Hermione replied, crisply. "I love to sit on the deck watching the sea, but I don't want to be the one in control over the ship. I think it's almost as frightening as flying."

Harry grinned, knowing that his wife would not willingly ride a broom at any time, while he absolutely loved flying and had even participated in two of the Quidditch matches during the last school year, winning one match for Slytherin and one for Ravenclaw.

HP

Three days before the end of the holidays, Harry took his whole class for an excursion to the small wizarding island Inis Rún, which was famous for jellygrapes, a very valuable potions ingredient. Together with his wife, he went to harvest jellygrapes, while the other soon-to-be second years enjoyed themselves all over the island.

It was late in the evening of the same day that Hermione came into the Master bedroom, when Harry was already half asleep.

"Harry, I've been thinking, but should we perhaps go to the past for a few days to find a friend for Godric?" Hermione asked in clear excitement, as she took a seat on the edge of his bed.

"Now?" Harry asked, sleepily, contentedly pulling Hermione close before he snuggled against her and set to sleep.

"Oh well in the morning then," Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

"Kay," Harry, mumbled, before he drifted off to sleep.

'Men,' Hermione thought to him in apparent annoyance, letting out a deep sigh, before she followed her husband's example.

HP

At the same time, Dolores Umbridge was having a conversation with the spirit, who was thoroughly annoying her - a status that needed to be remedied as soon as possible, at least in her opinion.

'Next week, Hogwarts is going to commence,' the spirit told her. 'So during this weekend, we're going to travel to Azkaban to free my Death Eaters. We'll leave right after work tomorrow evening.'

 _'Oh well, if we manage to free his followers, maybe they can help him get his own body, so I'll be able to get rid of him,'_ she thought, for once full heartedly agreeing to his plan. The idea _'I wonder how we'll be able to free them though'_ shot through her mind, as she went to bed, hoping that the spirit would be quiet for now.

HP

First thing in the morning, the Potters left and - after an exciting week in the past, during which Hermione managed to find a griffin familiar for herself - returned just five minutes later, before anyone noticed their absence.

"Harry, don't forget that today is the meeting of the Wizengamot," Hermione reminded him, while they walked downstairs for breakfast, followed by Godric and his new girlfriend, Rowena.

"Oh right, I almost forgot," Harry replied, inwardly groaning at the thought. "You're going to come with me, aren't you?" he then asked, absentmindedly noticing that the two griffins were pulling all the attention to them.

"Of course dear," Hermione reassured him, knowing that he was still uncertain about becoming the head of the Wizengamot, even if their friends and their classmates had done their best to reassure him that he would make a good head.

 _'Oh well, with the Death Eaters gone, everyone is nice, maybe apart from Umbridge,'_ he thought, _'especially when Dumbledore isn't the head anymore. He won't be able to manipulate people anymore.'_

HP

However, mere ten minutes after the beginning of the meeting, he realised that this meeting was not going to be as harmless and smooth as expected.

As the Minister of Magic, Amelia Bones opened the meeting. She greeted everyone, before she said, "We've come together to hopefully confirm Lord Potter-Gryffindor-Slytherin as the new head of the Wizengamot. Harry, have you made your decision?"

Before Harry could confirm his agreement, Umbridge rose from her chair and scoffed, "I don't agree, and if Potter believes that he's an adult, I challenge him to a Wizard's duel."

"I accept," Harry replied, inwardly groaning, before he suggested, "Let's do it right here in front of everyone."

HP

Dumbledore rose from his chair in clear determination to oversee the duel. Casting a safety charm around the empty area at the front of the room, he said, "Only wands are allowed in this duel, and..."

"No sir," Harry interrupted the old wizard, not sure if he was still the head of the Wizengamot. "Since I was the one challenged, I believe that it's upon me to choose the arms. Plus I don't trust you to be impartial and request the Minister of Magic to decide on someone else to supervise the duel."

Amelia nodded. "Lord Potter is right. He is entitled to choose his weapons."

"I'll use my sword then," Harry replied, contentedly, before he pulled his sword, which he always carried with him, however, invisibly.

"I don't have a sword," Umbridge screeched.

 _'Pity,'_ Harry thought, however, decided to behave himself, considering that he was going to be Dumbledore's successor as the head of the Wizengamot.

"You may use my sword," Hermione offered, holding out her sword to Umbridge.

"No," Umbridge pressed out between clenched teeth. "I'm a witch and will use my wand."

"Is that all right with you, Lord Potter?" Amelia queried, causing Harry to nod. "Very well, I suggest that Lord Black as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement oversees the duel."

Sirius nodded. "I shall count to three for you to begin," he advised the opponents, before he began to count.

At two, Umbridge shouted, "Crucio," an evil smile on her face.

With a small wave of his sword, Harry shot up a strong Protego charm, inwardly thanking Godric for enabling him to cast spells with his sword, before he decided to give the annoying bitch a small shock. He carefully slid his sword along her arm, well knowing that he'd have been able to just cut it off.

When Umbridge once again tried to cast an unforgiveable spell at him, which Harry easily deflected, he decided to not be as gentle anymore and returned a cutting spell, completely ignoring the witch's spluttering and shouting.

In absolute rage, Umbridge cast the killing curse, which Harry fortunately managed to dodge as well, before he ran his sword right through the evil witch's wand arm.

Looking at the defeated witch, who was lying on the floor screaming, Harry looked at his godfather, stating, "I didn't know that it was all right to use the unforgivables in a wizard's duel."

"Oh it wasn't," Sirius replied in a stern voice, "and Umbridge is going straight to Azkaban once St. Mungo's is through with her." With a flick of his wand, a blue dog shot out of the tip of his wand and crossed the room to travel through the opposite wall.

Two minutes later, Aurors Tonks and Shacklebolt entered the room carrying a chain Portkey to take the beaten witch away, who was still moaning in spite of being close to unconsciousness.

"Good riddance," Daedalus Diggle spoke up, as soon as the Aurors had left with Umbridge, causing the members of the Wizengamot to full heartedly agree.

From that point onwards, Harry's nomination as the new head of the Wizengamot went fast, and twenty minutes later, the meeting was over.

HP

Harry and Hermione instantly decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at Diagon Alley to have some time just for themselves, knowing that their classmates would be well cared for at Gryffindor Manor even if they did not return right away.

'Tomorrow is Dumbledore's trial,' Harry thought to his wife. 'I wished I could just skip it.'

Hermione let out a snort. 'You can't,' she thought back. 'You have to participate as the head of the Wizengamot, and you're also one of the main witnesses.'

'I know,' Harry replied, sighing.

HP

It was a warm and sunny late summer day, when Harry once again travelled to the Ministry of Magic together with his wife, glad that Professor McGonagall, Amelia and Sirius would be with them for the old wizard's trial. The trial took place in one of the largest courtrooms within the ministry, and Harry glanced around the assembled crowd in surprise.

Dumbledore was sitting in an iron chair in the middle of the room, firmly tied with ropes.

Harry inwardly groaned, when Sirius as the head of the DMLE listed up all the points of which Dumbledore was accused, ignorance of the Potters' will, placing a baby into an abusive family, throwing an innocent into Azkaban without as much as a trial, stealing from Harry Potter's vault for over a decade, hiring Death Eaters and other irresponsible persons as professors at Hogwarts, irrespective of their non-existent teaching abilities and the students' protests.

In front of the huge audience, the famous professor, who had been the so-called leader of the light for many decades, was questioned under Veritaserum. To Harry's relief, Dumbledore's responses merely confirmed all the accuses set up by Sirius. Harry was, however, enraged about the old wizard's reasoning.

"It was important that the boy grew up far from the magical world and his fame. He was supposed to be without friends in the magical world and to fully ready to rely on me as his grandfather-like confidant," Dumbledore explained. "Voldemort is not gone, and Harry will need my help to get rid of him," he added, smiling his grandfatherly smile.

Harry was also asked a few questions, however, the whole trial went smoothly and without any spectacular revelations. "I don't think that Dumbledore is evil, however, he's much too manipulative and doesn't respect the lives of others for his own sake," Harry said, finally. "I don't care what happens to him, as long as he stays away from Hogwarts and stops trying to manipulate the wizarding world. It's bad enough that we're going to have to fight Voldemort sooner or later, we really don't need any other obstacles."

A short break was announced, during which Sirius told Harry that he was much too lenient. "Thank Merlin it's not you who makes the decisions here, but the judges," he added, chuckling.

Thirty minutes later, the verdict was announced. Albus Dumbledore was sentenced to a ten-year stay in Azkaban.

'I think that's a bit too harsh. He's harmless compared to people like Umbridge,' Harry thought to his wife, when his attention was drawn back to the convict, who chose the instant the Aurors stepped over to him to transform into a phoenix and flash away in a bright flash.

HP

A few hours later, when Harry and Hermione were enjoying dinner together with their classmates and Sirius, Fawkes appeared with a bright flash and took a seat on Harry's shoulder.

#Heya nestling,# he began to trill, #I know that you already have two familiars, but would you have me as well? The old grumpy one's vest isn't clean enough for a chick to maintain his nest in.#

"Of course Fawkes," Harry smiled, having known the bad mouthed phoenix since his eleventh birthday in the time of the founders. "Thanks for becoming my familiar."

Fawkes let out a series of happy trills, before he jumped onto the table and helped himself to a couple of carrots from Harry's plate.

HP

The next morning's edition of the Daily Prophet was full with stories about Albus Dumbledore. However, the excitement was nothing compared to the turmoil that broke out a few days later, when the main headline screamed

 _'Convicted witch escapes from secure ward of St. Mungo's'  
'Mass outbreak at Azkaban'_

 _'Last night, Dolores Umbridge, who was supposed to be taken for a life-long stay in Azkaban right after her recovery, escaped from the warded section of the hospital. Eye witnesses have told they had seen the witch transform into a snake before she slithered through the hospital and fled. Mere hours later, a mass outbreak at Azkaban occurred, during which all convicted Death Eaters got away. These events raise questions like the one if Dolores Umbridge was a Death Eater and if so, how she'd have been able to access the Ministry of Magic after the head of the DMLE's latest clean-up, and if these two occurrences are in any way connected. Continued on page 5.'_

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	23. Chapter 23

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

'Voldemort,' Harry thought to his wife. 'He must have possessed her and taken her body when she was injured. She'd never be able to transform into a snake, let alone free all the Death Eaters from Azkaban.'

Hermione paled visibly, before she reluctantly agreed. 'Oh no, you're right Harry, but that's horrible. We need to urgently make a plan how to get rid of him.'

'And of his Death Eaters,' Harry added, grimly.

He absentmindedly observed how the Gryffindor first-years walked to the Slytherin table to head to their classroom together, while the Ravenclaws did the same with the Hufflepuffs.

 _'We taught them well during the first week,'_ he thought, as he rose from his chair to meet with his own classmates for the first morning class. _'I should have done something about Binns, while we didn't have a headmaster,'_ he mused. _'Maybe Emma would like to teach History of Magic, considering that the professors are teaching them in the evenings now that Dan studies together with her while having to teach the Muggle Studies classes.'_ For the time being, he resolved to speak with Professor McGonagall and Augusta Longbottom about the matter. _'I also need to inform them about my assumption with Voldemort. Or should I better not? I must tell Sirius and Amelia Bones in any case.'_

HP

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his favourite armchair in his private manor in Italy. The manor was hidden behind strong, unplottable wards, and Albus thought that he might be safer here than at Dumbledore Manor. His house-elves were thrilled at the prospect to have him back for a longer time than the usual short holidays. Even Twinkle, who had been his private house-lf at Hogwarts, had followed Albus to Italy, which made Albus feel very happy and reassured, since Twinkle knew him so much better than any of the other elves. Apart from that, Twinkle was privy to most of Albus' secrets, which he had not wanted to share with other humans.

 _'I'll be well able to live here for ten years,'_ Albus thought, _'and by then, the magical world will have noticed that they still need me to get rid of Voldemort. They'll be happy to have me back by then. Even Harry.'_

He looked up in expectation, when Twinkle arrived back from London with his daily copy of the Daily Prophet. However, upon taking a glance at the front page, his eyes widened in shock. _'He's back,'_ he thought in disbelief. _'Already.'_

Absentmindedly popping a lemon drop into his mouth, he reflected the last time he had been attending a Wizengamot meeting. _'He must have possessed Umbridge,'_ he realised, unaware that a much younger wizard had been able to make the same conclusion just an hour ago. _'That's why she cast three unforgivable spells at Harry. Maybe I should warn Harry. Too bad that Fawkes left me. Otherwise, I could have sent him to the boy with a note.'_

HP

 _'Thank Merlin we don't belong to any house,'_ Harry thought at the end of the Transfiguration class. Never before had he been so unfocused in one of his classes, and he was sure that the professor, who had shot him grim glares every now and then, would have taken house points from him if she could.

'I'm going to speak with McGonagall,' he informed his wife, who nodded in understanding and followed him to the front of the classroom.

"Professor," Harry addressed the Gryffindor head, who cast him a concerned look.

"I believe that Umbridge is possessed by Voldemort," Harry informed the professor, "maybe he's even taken over her body by now, considering that she was able to transform into a snake. Should we hold an urgent Wizengamot meeting to inform everyone?"

McGonagall stared at him with an expression of disbelief that slowly changed into horror. "Yes Harry, I believe that's what we should do." She remained thoughtful for a moment, before she informed him, "Professor Dumbledore usually sent a Patronus to all members. However, are you capable of the charm already?"

"Maybe not that specific charm," Harry replied, pensively, "but I can send a charm message, which works like the blue dog that Sirius sent to the Aurors during the last meeting."

"Yes, that's what I meant," McGonagall agreed. "You can either send one to each of the members or ask Amelia Bones to invite them for you. You need to contact her and agree on a time with her anyway."

"All right, I'll contact her right away," Harry said in determination. "Afterwards, I'll send my stag to everyone."

"Do you have the members' list?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed, glancing at his wrist watch. "Professor, could I please be excused from History of Magic today?"

"Of course," the deputy headmistress replied, smiling, before she led the Potters into her office, where they could use the fireplace, as her next students filed into the classroom.

HP

Mere three hours later, the members of the Wizengamot gathered for an urgent meeting. Harry opened the session and explained about his well reasoned fear that Voldemort might be back. "Right now, I don't have any proof, however, I wanted to warn you," he informed the members, knowing that most of them already had the experience of the first war against Voldemort.

"If he's back, he'll surely make himself visible soon," Amos Diggory spoke up. "I suggest that we ask the goblins to put wards around Diagon Alley like those at the ministry to keep the Death Eaters out."

"That's a brilliant idea," Sirius agreed immediately. "If possible, the wards should transfer them to a specific area so that we can capture them before they can even think of action."

"Sirius, let's go and speak with the goblins right after the meeting," Amelia spoke up, resolutely.

"Excuse me, would you please ask for the same wards for Hogwarts as well?" Harry enquired, causing Amelia to nod her agreement and invite Harry to join her and Sirius.

"We're more powerful if the minister, the head of the Wizengamot and the head of the DMLE go together," Sirius informed Harry, grinning, when the trio walked over to Gringotts right after the Wizengamot meeting.

"It's not only that," Amelia added, smiling. "Buckbean is Harry's guardian and as such very keen to keep him safe. He'll surely be forthcoming with ideas how to pull through with our ideas."

HP

Upon hearing their requests, Buckbean led the trio into Ragnok's office and informed the director of Gringotts of the magical community's ideas.

Together with the two goblins and five ward specialists, their plans were discussed in detail, and after three hours of intense discussion, the goblins offered to draw an Anti Death Eater ward around Diagon Alley that included even Gringotts.

"We could add a feature that makes every Death Eater, who stumbles against the wards, be taken straight to the Death chamber within the Ministry of Magic," Nightbark, one of the warding goblins suggested.

"Why not right into the veil?" Sirius queried. "We've already tried all of them, and they escaped from Azkaban. This time, we don't want to try keeping them safe. Let's just finish them off before they kill others."

To Harry's slight surprise, everyone agreed with his godfather's suggestion, and the goblins promised to put the wards up by the following morning. "We could do the wards for Hogwarts during the weekend," Nighbark added.

"I'd appreciate that," Harry agreed and promised to inform the headmistress right after his return to the school, making a mental note to warn Snape to not go anywhere near the new wards around Diagon Alley for the time being. _'Hogwarts won't be a problem as I can just add him to the wards. He should spend the weekend at Gryffindor Manor just to be sure,'_ he thought.

HP

Exactly three days later, Lady Voldemort apparated right into Diagon Alley. Her magic was not excessively strong like it had been during his time as Lord Voldemort, however, she had managed to kill off the bitch to whom the body had belonged before, and she was more than happy to have her own real body again after more than ten long years.

 _'Where are they?'_ she thought, impatiently waiting for Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle as well as Beatrix and her family to appear in order to attack Diagon Alley and openly show the magical world that the Dark Lady had returned. However, none of her followers showed up, almost causing Voldemort to destroy her wand in rage. _'I need a proper wand in any case, the one of that bitch is just ridiculous,'_ she thought, as she headed towards Knockturn Alley, wondering if her Death Eaters had misunderstood her and were waiting for her elsewhere.

HP

One morning, when the second-year Gryffindor and Slytherins walked to the dungeons for their first morning class, Harry noticed that Draco, Vincent and Gregory seemed somehow distressed.

"What happened?" he asked Draco in a small voice, causing the Slytherin to let out a long sigh.

"I just received a letter from mother," he whispered back. "My father has been summoned to the Dark Lord three days' ago and hasn't been seen ever since. It's the same with their fathers. So I'm just wondering what they're doing."

 _'Oh no,'_ Harry thought, torn between sympathy for Draco and hope of having Lucius Malfoy out of the way. He had seen the blonde wizard in multiple memories of Rowena's visions and new that he was one of Voldemort's faithful followers.

"Oh well, they could be doing anything," he replied, simply. "I'm sorry Draco."

Draco shook his head. "There's nothing to be sorry about. It's his own choices, choices which I greatly detest. If something happened to him, it's his own fault. It's just unsettling to be in the dark about what might have happened."

"I understand, Draco, and I hope you'll get good news soon," Harry said, compassionately. "Please keep me updated."

"I will," Draco promised. "Thanks Harry."

HP

However, during the following weeks, several Death Eaters' whereabouts remained unknown, and sometimes, even their wives, who were only going to Diagon Alley for an errand, failed to return home.

'I feel bad when I think of Draco,' Harry admitted to Hermione. 'I think I ought to tell him what happened.'

'I think so, too,' Hermione agreed, and one evening, Harry took Draco aside and informed him about the wards around Diagon Alley.

"Does your mother have the Dark Mark?" he asked, urgently.

"I think so," Draco admitted. "I'll warn her about not going to the alley."

'Mrs. Draco will inform the other Death Eaters,' Hermione warned Harry, however, her husband merely shrugged.

'I don't care. The main point is that it keeps them out of Diagon Alley, where they could attack hundreds of people at once,' he then replied.

HP

It was after the last afternoon class on Halloween that Harry was assisting Severus in the potions lab to help with the brewing of four batches of the potion for the squid's flu that was needed urgently. _'Thank Merlin Harry is ready to help at any time and that his assistance is so efficient,'_ Severus thought, when all of a sudden, his left arm flared in utmost pain. It was worse than any summoning that he had experienced before, and Severus could only grip his arm in utmost pain, hissing "Sorry."

Quickly putting the four potions that they were brewing simultaneously under stasis charms, Harry hurried to his side. "Please show me your arm," he demanded in a voice that made Severus obey instinctively. He rolled up his sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark, from which a seemingly upset black snake was hissing, urgently.

=Come to me, my followers. Absence will not be tolerated and severely punished. Come to me my faithful servant. You live to serve the Dark Lady. Hurry up...=

Seemingly without pondering the matter, Harry took the arm with both hands in a firm grip and hissed, =Go away you ugly snake. My teacher isn't a follower of the Dark Lady. You're not welcome on this arm. Leave and return to your master.=

When Harry released his arm and let himself sink to the floor in apparent exhaustion, Severus stared at his now blank arm in disbelief. _'He made it go away just by talking to it,'_ he thought, incredulously.

"Harry, are you all right?" he then asked, looking at the boy in concern.

"I'm fine," Harry replied, slowly standing up from the floor. "I cast Evanesco at the snake while I was talking to it, so it didn't have a chance but to leave," he explained with a smile playing on his lips.

"Harry," Severus said, his voice trembling from the emotions that overflowed his mind, "I don't know what to say. I just can't thank you enough for what you did here. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Harry replied, as if it had been the easiest matter of the world to remove the Dark Mark. "Now, shall we continue? I think Hagrid and the fourth-years are waiting for the potion."

"Wait," Severus replied, giving the boy a sharp look. "Do you need a Pepperup potion?"

"No thanks, it's all right," Harry replied, as he walked back to his cauldrons in apparent determination.

HP

Fifty minutes later, the batches were finished, and Severus walked towards the hospital wing together with the boy, who dismissed Severus' offer that he could head straight to the Great Hall, as the Halloween feast was already under its way.

"I don't mind, sir," Harry replied, smiling. "I've already informed my wife that I'll be late, so I won't be missed so soon."

Severus cast him an amused look. Since his stay in the past together with the Potters, he was quite close to Harry and Hermione, and they knew each other well. Harry had even saved his life by luring him out of Hogwarts and making him stay at Gryffindor Manor, when the goblins had applied the Death Eater repelling wards to Hogwarts.

He was brought back to reality when they reached the hospital wing. They distributed one of each phial to the students and two to Hagrid, wondering where Poppy was, before they added the remaining phials to her potions stock.

"Severus, Harry," Pomfrey suddenly retreated from the fireplace, which was situated at the far end of her office.

Severus had not even noticed her kneeling there and quirked an eyebrow in silent question.

"St. Mungo's is under attack from Death Eaters," Pomfrey informed them. "We need to..."

"Severus, you're going to stay at Hogwarts. Please inform your colleagues and ask McGonagall to send a message to the Wizengamot members," Harry interrupted the healer. "Madam Pomfrey, could you please contact Amelia Bones and Sirius Black right away. I'm heading to the hospital."

HP

Before anyone could protest, Harry apparated away, thinking to Hermione, 'St. Mungo's is under attack. Stay where you are and inform McGonagall.'

He arrived in the entrance hall of the hospital which equalled a battlefield. It was not difficult though to make out the attackers, as they were all wearing Death Eater attire.

Harry pulled his sword, making sure that there were no further Death Eaters behind him. Just when he was about to attack, he noticed that Hermione appeared at his side. Letting out a long sigh, he thought to her, 'I'd prefer having you in safety at Hogwarts.'

He then let his sword run through as many of the Death Eaters' wand arms as he could, while Hermione, who had chosen her wand over her sword, stupefied the Death Eaters, when Harry suddenly spotted Voldemort.

'Summon Voldemort's wand and make yourself invisible,' he firmly instructed his wife, noticing in relief that she complied, before he quickly stepped right in front of Voldemort and addressed the evil witch.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	24. Chapter 24

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

"Hello Tom, or should I say Dolores. Nice to meet you. I'm Harry," Harry said, smiling at Voldemort, noticing that he still looked like Umbridge, however, that his eyes were red.

"I am the Lady Voldemort," Voldemort replied, grimly.

Harry chuckled, hoping that some reinforcement from the Wizengamot members would arrive soon, before he and Hermione would have to fight Voldemort completely alone. _'Who knows what he's still able to do even without his wand,'_ he thought, seeing from the corner of his eyes that Hermione, still invisible to everyone but himself, had trained her wand on Voldemort.

"I see you're still the coward you were when you killed my parents. Taking a woman's body, how embarrassing, even for a half-blood," he continued and pulled his sword, right when Voldemort apparated away.

Only now did the Aurors arrive and began to take the wounded Death Eaters into custody. "Those who've already been in Azkaban before go straight through the veil, the others to Azkaban," he heard someone say.

"Let's return to Hogwarts," he said to Hermione, before he slid his sword back and pulled his wand instead. An instant later, two small stags emerged from the tip with the order to travel to McGonagall at Hogwarts and to Bones at the Ministry of Magic.

Before they could leave, however, Auror Tonks appeared seemingly out of nothing, positioning herself right in front of the Potters.

"Harry and Hermione, I've heard that it was you who saved lots of lives here tonight, and I wish to thank you on behalf of the Aurors. Thanks a lot."

Harry shrugged. "It's just a pity that Voldemort got away," he replied, regrettably. "I'd have preferred to finish him off before he can think of other places and ways to harm people."

With that, they apparated away, seeing from the corner of his eyes that the other members of the Wizengamot were just storming the entrance hall. _'Too late,'_ Harry thought, smirking, as he entered the Great Hall together with his wife.

He quickly walked up to the high table, where Severus was sitting all by himself and informed him about the happenings at the hospital.

"Well done Harry," the Slytherin replied, smirking.

HP

Albus Dumbledore stared at the front page of the Daily Prophet in disbelief. It showed how Harry and Hermione were waving their swords cutting Death Eaters' wand arms off, before Harry stood in front of Voldemort and challenged him. 'Hello Tom'.

 _'Oh Merlin, I hope Harry's not going to become a second dark lord,'_ Albus thought. _'He's much too confident for his own good. It was a grave mistake that I didn't observe him closer and prevent him to travel to the founders' time.'_

He remained thoughtful for most of the day, before he set up a plan that would put a damper on Harry Potter's arrogance and hopefully make the boy look up to his elders again. The only point that he was not exactly sure about was the timing. _'I wonder how many Death Eaters Tom has left by now,'_ he thought, as he sucked on his lemon drop in a fast pace matching his excitement.

HP

"Arthur, is it all right to march through the magical world taking people's wand arms off with swords?" Molly asked, incredulously, pointing to the front page of the Daily Prophet, when her husband returned from work in the evening.

"They're magical swords, and there's no rule that they aren't allowed in the magical world," Arthur replied in surprise. "On the contrary, the employees as well as the guests of St. Mungo's can be extremely glad that Harry Potter and his wife came to their rescue yesterday. As far as Amelia told me, the Aurors only arrived on time to capture the already stunned Death Eaters, and the Wizengamot finally showed up when everything was already over."

"That may be, but still," the redhead insisted, uncertainly.

"Don't blame Harry Potter for anything," Arthur said in a sharp voice. "In the eyes of many, he's a hero, and I fully agree. Ask your children. Ron and Ginny are both very happy at Hogwarts, not at least before Harry did something close to the abolishment of the house system. If not for him, it wouldn't be possible for Ginny to be best friends with Luna, considering that they're in different houses, not to speak about Ron. He'd be miserable in Slytherin if not for the changes that Harry has made."

"I still feel sorry for Albus," Molly replied, causing Arthur to let out a long sigh.

"Molly, Albus deserved everything that he's got, and you did enough harm by making scrupulous arrangements with him. I strongly recommend that you leave Harry Potter in peace. Otherwise, you're going to regret your actions. That I can promise as the head of the Weasley house," he replied in a no-nonsense voice, knowing that this was the only way his wife would listen to him - hopefully.

HP

Three days before the first Quidditch match of the school year, the Weasley twins cornered Harry.

"Harry, you've already played Quidditch for all teams..."

"... except for Gryffindor..."

"Don't you think..."

"... that you're obliged..."

"... to play for our house for once?" Fred and George asked in a funny singsong that made Harry laugh.

"I'd love to play for Gryffindor," he replied, smiling. "However, I can't just go to Professor McGonagall and tell her that I've decided to play for your team on Saturday. I can only play when the Seeker is sick and unable to play, or any other player who's going to be replaced by the team's Seeker."

The twins stared at him with pensive expressions that soon turned into broad smiles.

"All right Harry..."

"... thanks for the information..."

"... and ready yourself to play on Saturday," the twins threatened, before they dashed away in clear eagerness.

HP

"I wonder what they're planning," Harry said to his wife late the same evening, when they returned to their rooms at curfew. "Pomfrey isn't exactly stupid, and I can't imagine that she'll fall for a prank potion."

"It depends on what it is," Hermione replied, pensively. "I've heard from their sister that the twins are spending their time inventing their own prank potions and drops. Oh well, let's wait and see."

HP

Harry was not surprised to say the least, when McGonagall came over to the Slytherin table during breakfast on Saturday morning and told him that the Gryffindor Seeker was unable to play Quidditch due to a high fever and asked if he'd be willing to play for Gryffindor.

"Of course," Harry replied, inwardly shaking his head at the twins' antics.

It was a dark, foggy day in mid November, and the Snitch kept hiding between the lowly hanging clouds, so that it was not easy to spot. Harry barely looked at the game that was played underneath himself but feverishly concentrated on his favourite little ball, especially when it began to rain three hours into the match. Just when the rain slowly changed into snow was he able to catch the fleeing winged ball.

"Harry Potter caught the Snitch. Gryffindor wins 350 - 210," Madam Hooch announced, and Harry had the impression as if all the players were glad to be able to descend towards the ground.

None of the players, neither of the spectators, had noticed an old wizard observing the match from the first row of the trees of the Forbidden Forest, hidden under a borrowed Invisibility cloak.

HP

"Harry, is something wrong? You're very quiet tonight," Hermione asked in concern.

Harry shook his head. "No dear, I was just thinking about our New Year's party. I'd like to hold one again, but I'd love to invite the first-years as well. I was just wondering if we have enough space on the beach."

Hermione chuckled. "If we hold the party on your ship, we can invite the whole school. Maybe we can leave the beach for an hour's trip or so, and we could ask the Weasley twins if they can do fireworks for us over the sea."

"Fireworks?" Do you think they know how to do those?"

"I'm sure," Hermione confirmed. "I heard Ginny talk about how their mother fret when they did just a small one during the summer holidays, even if it was far from the house in the garden."

"Oh right, let's ask them then," Harry agreed, happily. "Considering that their fever fudge, which they gave the Gryffindor Seeker, even fooled Pomfrey, they must be really good." Ignoring the fact that his wife rolled her eyes in apparent annoyance, he asked, "Your parents, Sirius and Remus won't mind if we invite the whole school, will they?"

Hermione pondered the matter for a moment, before she decided, "No dear, I don't think so, especially as it's only one night anyway."

HP

On the following evening, Harry and Hermione went to the first-year study room in order to speak with all classes one after another. However, the first-years had so many questions that it soon became clear that they'd only manage the third-years on the same evening.

Consequently, they spent the complete week to invite the whole school to their New Year's party on Harry's ship. To Harry's surprise, all students without exceptions happily accepted the invitation, although many of them, especially from the younger years, said that they had to ask their parents.

"That's fine of course. Just tell us as soon as you know, because we have to make Portkeys for each of you," Hermione said, smiling in anticipation.

HP

One week before the beginning of the Christmas holidays, Harry and Hermione had received the replies and, knowing that all students were going to participate, went to the head table at dinner time to invite the teachers.

As could be expected, everyone - except for Professor Trelawney - accepted the invitations, and Professor Flitwick promised to support the Weasley twins with their fireworks.

"Harry, are you not going to the past during the holidays?" McGonagall asked in a small voice, causing the boy to look up in surprise.

"We didn't plan to go, but we could," he replied, reluctantly. "Would you like to join us?"

A rare smile crossed the Scottish lioness' face when she admitted, "I'd love to accompany you."

Harry remained thoughtful for an instant, before he offered an idea. "With Voldemort on the loose, I really don't want to be absent for two weeks, however, we could go there for some time and return on the same day. Would that be all right with you, Professor?"

"That sounds very reasonable," McGonagall agreed, and they decided to leave as soon as the students had boarded the carriages to Hogsmeade on the first day of the holidays.

Upon the news that they were going to return just a few minutes after leaving, Severus, Remus, Sirius, Madam Pomfrey and the Grangers also decided to join the Potters, and the founders were happy to have so many guests who could teach them magic that was used one thousand years into the future.

HP

It was on the day after their return from the past that Voldemort began a fierce attack on the families of muggleborn students.

Harry, Hermione and their extended family consisting of the Grangers, Sirius and Remus were just having dinner at Gryffindor Manor, and Lily and James kept them company from the portrait, into which they used to move when their family was at Gryffindor Manor. All of a sudden, an alarm on Sirius' watch went off.

"Voldemort is attacking people's homes," he said and excused himself, reaching for his necklace that served as a Portkey between his office, Gryffindor Manor and Potter Manor.

"Wait," Harry said, sharply. "I'm coming with you."

"Me too," Hermione added and, before anyone could do as much as protest, the two children reached for Sirius' necklace right on time before he activated it.

HP

Unfortunately, by the time they reached the crime scene, only a ruin was left of the house that had belonged to the Muggle parents of a Hufflepuff third-year.

"We're too late," Harry said in devastation, leaning into his wife's embrace, while the Aurors searched the ruin in a faint attempt to find anything that could be of use in case of further attacks.

"Maybe we should evacuate all the muggleborn students and their families to Hogwarts," Hermione suggested.

"Let's do that. There's space enough at Hogwarts, or we could even accommodate them at Gryffindor Manor. It's big enough," Harry agreed immediately.

Sirius nodded, thoughtfully, before he alerted them to the fact that the Aurors had already left. "Let's go home and invite Amelia for an urgent discussion, maybe together with Longbottom and McGonagall," he then suggested, holding out his Portkey.

"Wait a moment," Harry requested and sent his stag to the three witches whom Sirius had just mentioned, before he slid his wand back and reached for the Portkey.

HP

Together with a few Aurors and several members of the Wizengamot, Harry and Hermione spent the following days leading up to Christmas evacuating the families of all muggleborn students according to a plan that Hermione made in order to be as efficient as possible.

Nevertheless, they could not prevent Voldemort from killing three more families.

"Too bad that the founders removed the Horcrux from behind my scar," Harry said to his wife in the early morning of Christmas Eve, when they returned from the home of the Creeveys in devastation. "Otherwise, I'd know in advance what Voldemort was planning like we saw in Rowena's vision memories."

"Harry," Hermione replied, seemingly horrified. "Don't ever say such a thing," she demanded. "I'm glad that Horcrux is gone, otherwise, you'd have to die before someone would be able to kill Voldemort like Dumbledore told Sirius. We just have to hurry rescuing the remaining families."

"Exactly," Sirius concurred, before he pointed at Harry's shoulder torn between horror and amusement. "Where did that bird come from?"

"Bird?" Harry queried, glancing at his left shoulder in shock, where a small, green parrot was perched, quietly.

"Can anyone stun that beast already?" Harry asked, impatiently, glaring at his godfather, who finally raised his wand. "Maybe one of the Death Eaters waited for us to arrive."

"Would the Dark Mark repelling wards work against an Animagus?" Hermione asked, alert.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	25. Chapter 25

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

#I'm sorry for coming with you, uninvited. It's me, Colin# the bird suddenly spoke up. #I couldn't help them. I could only save myself. It was so horrible.#

"Colin!" Hermione was the first to find words. "Thank Merlin you got away, dear. Will you please transform back, so we can make sure that you're unharmed?"

The bird popped his head up and down, before it left Harry's shoulder to sit on the floor. Hesitating for a moment, he finally changed back into his human form. "I couldn't do anything," he sobbed, staring at the floor.

In the meantime, Emma and Dan had joined the small group and, looking into the boy's tear-stricken face, Emma pulled him into an embrace and said, "Thank Merlin you could save yourself."

"Exactly," Harry added. "We're very happy that you managed to get away. Are you physically hurt in any way?"

"No," Colin confirmed, still crying. "I don't know how I managed to become a parrot. Perhaps with accidental magic."

"That may be, but it was very well done then," Harry said in a soft voice, glad that at least the boy had survived the attack.

"Dennis must be alive, too," Colin suddenly remembered to inform them. "He was spending the night at his best friend's."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Emma said in a soothing voice.

"Do you know where he is, so that we can go and fetch him first thing in the morning, before he attempts to return home?" Harry enquired, causing Colin to nod.

After Trulla served some hot cocoa, of which she had laced Colin's with a calming draught as well as a sip of a dreamless sleep potion, everyone headed to bed. Knowing that Colin had to be very much distraught, Harry offered that he could spend the first night on a quickly conjured spare bed in his room.

"Everything else we'll see in the morning," he promised in a soft voice.

HP

In the morning, Emma and Remus promised Colin to organise all the paperwork in the Muggle world including the funeral for the Creeveys, and Harry questioned the boy about his brother's whereabouts. Finally, he instructed him to grab his tail feathers and immediately transformed into his phoenix form. As soon as Colin held on, he flashed near the house where Dennis had been spending the night.

"Colin, since your brother doesn't know me, I'm going to wait here. We don't want him to think that he was going to be kidnapped," Harry said in a soft voice, causing Colin to shake his head in determination.

"No Harry, Dennis knows as much about you as I do," he replied, with a small smile playing on his lips. "I've told him everything. Please come with me. He'll be thrilled to meet you."

Finally, Harry agreed, and together, they went to fetch Dennis. _'We can't have them find out about the Creeveys' death and think that it was me, because I'm collecting Dennis,'_ Harry thought and shortly explained to Dennis' friend's family what had happened to Colin's and Dennis' parents and informed them that he was going to take them both to the boarding school that Colin was attending.

Ten minutes later, Harry was back at Gryffindor Manor with the two boys. While Dennis was shocked at the news, he was delighted to meet Harry on the other hand, and Harry was glad that breakfast was just about to begin and that Trulla knew without being told to once again mix a light dose of a calming draught into the boys' juice.

HP

They had already invited the complete Hogwarts staff for Christmas dinner, however, knowing that Colin might need help from the professors whom he knew better than the Grangers or Sirius, Harry and Hermione walked over to the castle at lunchtime to invite the teachers for dinner on Christmas Eve as well.

Dinner was held in the large dining hall together with the families, who had been evacuated to Gryffindor Manor. The decision to favour the manor over Hogwarts for the evacuation had been the fact that the manor was visible to Muggles, in contrary to the school. Amelia Bones had seen to it that all families received Portkeys that brought them to their usual spots in the Muggle world and back to Gryffindor Manor.

After dinner, Professor McGonagall asked Colin and Dennis if they had any living relatives, causing the boys to exchange a glance, before they admitted to have one distant cousin, who greatly despised their family and vice versa.

"We haven't met him as much as once, and if there's any way for us to remain in the magical world, we'd appreciate it greatly," Colin finally said, giving the professor a pleading look.

"That surely won't be a problem," Emma spoke up. "Dan and I would be willing to become your guardians, as would Sirius and Remus."

"Harry and I would be available as well," Hermione offered, smiling. "Considering that the magical world sees us as adults, it shouldn't be a problem."

"I am also willing to become your guardians," McGonagall added. "I suggest that you think about it until the end of the Christmas holidays."

"As long as we can stay together, we don't really mind," Colin replied, offering his head of house a small smile.

"You will," Harry reassured him and promised to think about hiring a teacher at Hogwarts who could teach the children who were too young to become first-years yet.

HP

Unfortunately, Voldemort did not stop his attacks upon realising that the families of all muggleborn students had somehow left their houses and began to attack random Muggle families.

"Thank Merlin he... or her... whatever... doesn't know the names of the muggleborns, who haven't registered with Hogwarts yet," Harry said to his wife. "Otherwise, Gryffindor Manor would be too full."

"Yes, that's a relief," Hermione admitted, before she pulled him into a long kiss.

"Let's just hope that we'll be able to get rid of him before the next school year," Harry added, once she released him.

"At least we've already managed to make his life more difficult," Hermione pointed out, smiling. "He shouldn't have too many followers left anymore."

"I hope so," Harry said, letting out a deep sigh.

HP

However, before the end of their second year, Harry and Hermione did not have any opportunity to meet let alone fight Voldemort. They had no idea about his whereabouts, and even if he kept attacking Muggle families, the Aurors usually were too late at the spot to capture any Death Eaters let alone the Dark Lady.

Over the months, the families became used to their new life at Gryffindor Manor, the manor's house-elves thoroughly enjoyed serving so many people, and Harry, Hermione and their extended family became used to never having the manor for themselves.

Whenever they wanted some peace and quiet, they either had to retreat to Potter Manor or enjoy a trip on the ship, to which they usually did not invite the families. The only exception had been the party on New Year's Eve.

HP

In spite of the fact that Voldemort was still on the loose, Harry and Hermione decided to spend a month in the past like every summer, and Emma, Dan, Sirius, Severus and Remus gladly accompanied them.

Just to be sure that nothing bad happened during his absence, Harry left a time travel Portkey with Professor McGonagall, asking her to fetch him if Voldemort showed any activity that would request his support.

However, McGonagall did not come to search him in the past, and Harry and his extended family enjoyed their holidays and only returned to the future on his birthday. This time, he insisted to arrive earlier than just at the beginning of any birthday party that his wife might have planned, and the small group were back just on time for breakfast.

To Harry's shock, a letter awaited him that he had not expected at all.

HP

Reading the name on the outside of the parchment in surprise, Harry exchanged a glance with his wife, before he unfolded the letter in curiosity.

 _'Dear Harry,  
don't you feel bad knowing that Voldemort killed the Dursleys? When I placed you with your relatives, I put blood wards around their residence, which would have kept you and your family safe from the Death Eaters if you had returned there at least once a year during the summer. I know that I would feel miserable if I had caused three murders.  
If you need help for your fight against Voldemort, I shall always be willing to give the help needed.  
Enjoy the rest of your holidays.  
Albus Dumbledore'_

"The Dursleys," Harry blurted out. "It's my fault that Voldemort killed them. I didn't even know that he did."

"Harry, it's not your fault at all," Hermione said, grimly. "Don't listen to Dumbledore. You know that he's not as good as he claims, otherwise, Fawkes wouldn't have left him and come to you."

"Well said," Remus agreed. "We can ask our colleagues if there was anything in the Daily Prophet about the Dursleys, but if it's anyone's fault, then it's Voldemort's and not yours."

"It's rather Dumbledore's fault, because he brought you there and made them a target in the first place," Sirius growled, seeming ready to tear Dumbledore's letter into pieces.

Nevertheless, Harry could not easily shake off the idea that it was his fault that the Dursleys had been murdered.

HP

During the remaining weeks of the holidays, Harry racked his mind how to lure Voldemort out of his hiding spot, out to a place where he could attack him. However, neither he nor anyone from his extended family or the teachers at Hogwarts had any idea.

Apparently contented to torture Muggles, Voldemort continued to attack seemingly random Muggle families every weekend. However, during Harry's and Hermione's third Hogwarts year, he never made an appearance in the magical world, leaving Harry to wonder where he was hiding and why.

HP

Voldemort gathered her followers around himself and said in a firm voice, "As much fun as it is to torture Muggles, I want to attack the magical world. Find out which places within the wizarding world are not surrounded by wards. I expect your ideas by the weekend."

"Yes my Lady," the Death Eaters replied in unison.

"Your second task is to recruit more wizards and witches who are willing to support us," Voldemort added, causing everyone to voice their understanding.

"Very well." The Dark Lady nodded, contentedly. With that, she sent a curse to each of her Death Eaters to remind them that her orders had to have their first priority.

HP

As much as Harry wanted Voldemort to make an appearance, so that he could finish him off, he did not want to endanger anyone. Therefore, he was extremely relieved upon hearing from Amelia Bones that the goblins had once again supported the magical world with wards in order to protect that Quidditch world cup that was going to take place shortly.

Even if Harry loved playing Quidditch, it was more because he liked to fly and not because he was interested in the sport itself. Therefore, he and his extended family decided to give the Quidditch world cup a pass and rather remain at Gryffindor manor after returning from the first half of the holidays in the past as usual.

HP

After intense discussions with their colleagues, Augusta and Minerva had decided to hold the Triwizard tournament at Hogwarts during the following school year.

"I don't have a good feeling with the matter," Harry said, when their extended family sat together for dinner on the last day of the holidays. "I think they should have waited until Voldemort will be gone."

"The wards will keep everyone safe," Sirius replied, joyfully. "I think it's going to be a lot of fun, and I fully intend to come watching the spectacle."

"Oh well," Harry said, smirking, "I'm only glad that only people from seventeen years onwards are allowed to participate. I wouldn't wish to be among the champions."

HP

To Harry's amusement, the Triwizard tournament began with a surprise for everyone, when the Durmstrang students arrived at Hogwarts without their headmaster. Apparently, Professor Karakoff had travelled together with his students, however, upon their arrival he had vanished from the spot.

"Maybe he was a Death Eater and the wards rejected him," McGonagall whispered to the headmistress, who nodded in understanding.

After the welcoming feast for the foreign students, the teachers as well as five students from Durmstrang met for an urgent meeting, during which Augusta voiced her suspect and asked the students if they were willing to participate without having their headmaster at Hogwarts.

"We will participate," Viktor Krum confirmed after exchanging a few words with the students from his school. "Professor Karakoff wouldn't be able to help the champion anyway."

Ten days later, the Goblet of Fire chose Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, Fleur Delacour from Beauxbatons and the Hufflepuff Cedric Diggory as representant for Hogwarts.

HP

"I'm sick of all these wards," Voldemort shouted, casting random spells at her faithful followers in rage. "Nott, try if Hogsmeade is affected by the wards around Hogwarts. Apparate there and back. NOW!" she growled.

"Yes my Lady," Nott pressed out and apparated away in obvious anxiousness.

Two minutes later, he reappeared with apparent relief. "Mistress, I could easily apparate onto the main street of Hogsmeade," he informed the Dark Lady, who nodded contentedly.

"Very well," he turned to his other Death Eaters. "Find out when the next Hogsmeade visit for the Hogwarts students will be and we're going to really surprise them. I also want you to find someone at Hogwarts who would be able to spy for us. I'm sick of having no spy in the castle, which means not knowing what's going on," he added, impatiently. _'Too bad that the ministry killed my best followers; the remaining Death Eaters are much less enthusiastic than people like Malfoy and Bella were,'_ he thought, feeling extremely unhappy with his current situation. _'As if it wasn't bad enough to be stuck in a woman's body,'_ he self-pitied himself.

HP

As usual before the Hogsmeade visits, excitement was high in the fourth-year study room.

"We should go in small groups, so that each group can take a small group of third-years with them," Harry suggested, causing a small discussion about the matter that ended after ten minutes with the unanimous consent to assist the third-years on their first Hogsmeade visit.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	26. Chapter 26

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

Eighteen groups, each consisting of five students from third and fourth year, made their way into Hogsmeade right after breakfast, following the older students.

It was out of a strange feeling of foreboding that Harry suddenly felt compelled to make emergency Portkeys back to Hogwarts for each of the small groups. Glad that he found a small cork in his robe pocket, he transfigured it into a long ribbon, which he magically split into eighteen parts and turned each of them into a Portkey.

"The password to activate is 'Back to the Great Hall'," he informed the groups, before he handed the ribbon of his own group to Luna. "In case something happens, I'm going to remain, so it's up to you to take our group back. Hermione and I will be able to apparate back in any case," he added upon noticing the concerned look he received from the girl. "I don't think that we need the Portkeys anyway. I just want to be on the safe side."

HP

Harry realised soon that his bad feeling had not betrayed him. His group was just leaving the Three Broomsticks after enjoying lunch together with many other students, when he felt a sudden coldness spread over the village. Right after he noticed the change in the air temperature, he saw strange, black beings hover over the main street and heard someone shout "Dementors."

"Quickly, grab your Portkey," he hissed at his group, realising in relief that everyone immediately grabbed the ribbon that Luna was holding out to them.

Harry immediately pulled his wand and sent a small stag each to Sirius, Remus and Amelia, hoping that any of them would know what to do against Dementors. Since there had not been Dementors in the time of the founders, he had never been confronted with them before and had only heard about them from Sirius.

"May Averrunco will work against them," he whispered to his wife, before he exchanged his wand with his sword and cast the spell, which he had learned in the past to fight against various kinds of evil beings.

To his relief, the spell seemed to at least weaken the Dementors enough so that he could give them a last kick with his sword to finish them off. Together with his wife, he killed the whole group of about thirty Dementors, before they let their swords sink and exchanged a relieved look.

Before they knew what happened, they were surrounded by grateful inhabitants of the village as well as reporters, and someone pressed bars of Honeyduke's chocolate into their hands.

"Eat, this will help against the effects of the Dementors," they were told and profusely thanked the people, before they decided to apparate back to Hogwarts, just when something caught Harry's attention.

"Death Eaters," he heard someone shout and looked around the street in concern. However, before he could make out what was happening, his body flared in pain and the world around him turned black.

HP

Hermione observed in horror how Harry fell to the ground, his face scrunched in obvious pain. She knelt next to her husband, terrified, and carefully felt for a pulse, sighing in immense relief upon realising that he was only unconscious but not dead. She was just about to call Fawkes in order to take Harry back to Hogwarts, when she saw something that almost made her heart stop. Flexa, one of the oldest house-elves at Gryffindor Manor, who often accompanied Hermione and Harry when they left the safety of Hogwarts or the manor, suddenly jumped in front of herself only to intercept a red light that was heading straight towards her.

"No!" she heard herself shout in shock, when the kind elf succumbed to the curse.

"Fawkes!" she called the phoenix, extremely thankful when the clever bird responded to her call and immediately took her and Harry to the hospital wing at Hogwarts.

The thought _'I should have looked for the Death Eaters and try to catch them'_ crossed her mind, however, she dismissed the idea, knowing that it was far more important to have Harry looked after by Madam Pomfrey as soon as possible.

HP

"Nott," Voldemort greeted her follower in expectation. "Did you have fun?"

Nott bowed deeply. "Yes my Lady," he then said. "However, Potter and his mudblood killed all the Dementors. They didn't chase them away, they just killed them all."

"Impressive," Voldemort admitted, before he pressed, "And then?"

"I managed to cast the somnus aeternus curse at Potter and hit him," Nott reported. "However, when I cast the same curse at the mudblood, it was intercepted by a house-elf."

"Is Potter dead?" Voldemort asked in sudden excitement.

Nott shrugged. "I hope so my Lady. If my curse was strong enough he should."

 _'Strange. I thought I'd be the one to have to kill him,'_ Voldemort thought, _'at least according to that prophecy. Oh well, who knows what the second half of it says.'_

Mere twelve hours later, Voldemort held the newest copy of the Daily Prophet in her hands and in a sudden rage got rid of the Death Eater who had failed her so badly.

 _'No one fails the Lady Voldemort,'_ he thought, immediately regretting her deed upon realising that she had no more than six Death Eaters left.

HP

When Harry's mind turned back to awareness, he felt pain. It was worse than any pain that he had ever endured before. From the light streaming into the hospital wing, he knew that it had to be morning, and from the corner of his eyes, he could see his wife. She was sitting on the edge of his bed, deeply engrossed in the Daily Prophet.

Harry got a glimpse at the front page, where a big, red headline screamed _'The Saviours of Hogsmeade'_. Underneath was a picture of Hermione and himself killing the Dementors.

 _'I wonder what happened afterwards,'_ he thought and tried to move to the side and speak to his wife, when he noticed, horrified, that he was not able to move. He could neither turn onto his side, nor was he able to move his lips and speak. Even his eyes could only look straight on. 'Mione,' he tried to think to his wife.

'Harry,' she thought back and turned around instantly.

Harry could see a bunch of emotions flash over her face. However, it seemed to be mostly concern that remained, when he told her, telepathically, that he could not move at all.

"Harry, you're in a coma," Hermione informed him, tears leaking from her eyes. "You were hit by a dark spell that Pomfrey, Sirius, Severus and Remus couldn't recognise. You must try to wake up, there's nothing that we can do to help me with that," she continued.

'Can you ask Pomfrey for something for the pain,' Harry replied, only to add, 'Hurts.'

A few minutes later, the healer's voice penetrated his mind, and he felt the pain recede some. However, he was still unable to move in any way, and the healer told him that she had no idea how to help him and had even required help from St. Mungo's, however, the head healer and his assistant had been as clueless as herself.

"I'm sorry, Harry, but we can only wait and see," she said, sympathetically. "You're still in a coma, even if you can understand us and are able to communicate with your wife. You have to wake up."

HP

Unfortunately, the first task of the Triwizard tournament passed, Christmas passed and even the second task, and Harry was still in a coma. His wife, family and not only his classmates but the whole school took turns visiting him, after the healer had uttered the advice to speak with Harry as much as possible in an attempt to make him wake up.

Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his favourite armchair studying the Daily Prophet with great interest.

 _'Harry Potter finally woke up after being in a coma for eight months due to a Death Eater attack,'_ he read, deep in thought.

 _'I won't allow Harry to get any rest,'_ he resolved. _'I'll go and play with the wards. I hope that I'll still be able to tamper with them after being the headmaster for so long.'_

HP

It was in the morning of the third task of the Triwizard tournament. Harry was enjoying breakfast together with his wife and the Weasley twins, and Fawkes was sitting on the table next to Harry's plate helping himself to a couple of fruits, which he loved so much that he often joined his familiar for breakfast.

All of a sudden, Fawkes interrupted the conversation by a few selected trills that made Harry rise from his chair immediately.

"Fawkes just told me that Dumbledore is out on the grounds," he said, urgently. "Fred and George, come with me. We'll have some fun with him."

Together, the three young wizards dashed out of the Great Hall, Harry casting invisibility charms at the three of them as they ran outside. However, when they reached the grounds, they could not see anyone. Only when Harry cast a charm on the three of them that made them see through invisibility cloaks and spells, they realised that Dumbledore was standing right in front of the first row of trees of the Forbidden Forest, hidden under an invisibility cloak and looking at a point behind the lake.

Harry hurriedly taught the twins two spells, before the three boys stopped walking a few metres in front of the old wizard. While Harry still cast silencing charms around their small group, the twins already began to tease their former headmaster.

An instant later, Dumbledore found himself being raised into the air and turned upside down, before a soft wind came up that made his clothes except for his underwear separate from his body and float around himself along with the invisibility cloak.

As if the humiliation was not sufficient, someone cast a tickling charm at the old wizard, before Harry tossed a Portkey at him that took him away from Hogwarts and brought him right in front of Gringotts.

"That was fun," the twins laughed on their way back to the Great Hall to finish their breakfast.

"Thanks for your help," Harry replied, smirking.

HP

Hermione frowned upon hearing about Harry's and the twins' actions. "Don't you think that was a little too much of a provocation?" she asked, worriedly. "He might try to get his revenge on Hogwarts, even if he doesn't specifically know that it was you."

Harry shrugged and admitted, "I'm not overly concerned about him. He's not Voldemort, and as much as I disliked him while he was the headmaster, I don't think he'd want to harm the students."

"I hope you're right," Hermione replied, smiling, as she pulled him into a passionate kiss.

HP

Albus was more than upset. _'How dare they?'_ he thought, as he hurriedly brought his robes into place, noticing horrified that he found himself in the middle of the wizarding shopping street in London. Thoroughly annoyed with the students' behaviour, he could not care less about being seen when he transformed into his phoenix form and swiftly flashed back home to his manor in Italy.

 _'At least I had the opportunity to check the wards before I was attacked,'_ he thought, feeling very contented with himself. _'Tomorrow, I'll head to the library and do some research about goblin wards,'_ he resolved. It was only a small detail of information that he was missing, however, without the knowledge he wouldn't be able to proceed with his plan. _'Oh well, the summer holidays are going to begin soon anyway, so I have much time,'_ he thought, pensively popping a lemon drop into his mouth.

Unfortunately, in spite of intense research, he was not able to find the necessary information in any library in Italy. After several months of study, he grudgingly decided to return to Dumbledore Manor for a while, where it was easier for him to lay his hands on more relevant literature. Nevertheless, it took him almost a year before he finally found what he had been searching for.

 _'Right before Harry's OWLs will be a good timing,'_ he thought in anticipation, when he returned to Italy for the Easter holiday.

HP

Harry's and Hermione's fifth year passed relatively peacefully - apart from the fact that Voldemort continued to attack Muggle families and Harry became more upset about the matter by the week.

It was a month before the beginning of the OWLs, when Harry and Hermione were just getting ready for their last Hogsmeade visit before the exams, that all of a sudden, a fire phoenix flashed right into the founders' quarters, causing Harry and Hermione to pull their swords, instantly.

"Dumbledore?" Harry growled, wondering why the old wizard had been able to find them in the founders' quarters.

The phoenix let out a series of trills that sounded like a chuckle. #Dumbledore? Don't tell me he looks like me. I'm Godric.#

"Godric!" Hermione blurted out, seemingly relieved.

"How dare you scare us so much?" Harry added, grinning.

"I'm sorry," Godric apologized, as he transformed back into his human form. "I thought it would be less a fright than if I came in my human form, which is why I took the Portkey into Rowena's and my bedroom before flashing here."

"Never mind," Hermione replied, smiling. "We're glad to have you here, no matter in which form."

"All right," Godric said, sighing. "I came to give you a message from Rowena. She instructed me to tell you to prepare for a possible attack on Hogwarts. You could make easy to access secret doors to Salazar's chamber or to Gryffindor Manor or somewhere, to where you could evacuate the students in case of an attack."

"Godric, please tell us the truth," Harry demanded, sternly. "Did she see an attack? Can you show us the memory?"

Godric let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, but she wasn't sure. Still, she wanted me to warn you."

"We appreciate it a lot," Hermione replied, honestly. "Thank you very much for coming here to warn us. Are you going to remain in our time for a while?"

"Oh, please do so," Harry added. "Everyone will be very happy to meet you again. They're already making plans for the summer holidays."

"Let me think about it. I'll tell you tonight," Godric replied, gently petting Fawkes' head feathers, seemingly glad that the phoenix had come to see him shortly after his arrival in the future.

"I think I'll make doors that lead right onto the ship," Harry said, pensively, causing Hermione to nod, approvingly.

"If that's possible, it's a brilliant idea, especially since the whole school fits into the boat," she agreed.

"I'd love to see that ship," Godric threw in, making the young couple smile.

"Let's go and show you," Hermione suggested, thinking to Harry, 'We don't really have to go to Hogsmeade, do we?'

'No,' Harry replied, smiling.

Instead, they spent the day with Godric, Emma, Dan, Sirius, Remus, Severus and Minerva McGonagall at Gryffindor Manor. During a small cruise in the afternoon, Harry informed the professors about his intention to make secret doors leading right onto the ship. All teachers greatly approved the idea, and they decided to add such a door in each of the common rooms as well as the Great Hall.

"I hope that it'll work at all," Harry said, hesitantly. "I need to ask Hogwarts for help."

"I'll assist," Godric offered. "In the worst case, we'll just make the doors lead to Salazar's chamber."

To everyone's delight, Godric decided to remain in the future until the beginning of the summer holidays, when he would return to the past together with Harry and his extended family.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	27. Chapter 27

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

 _'I hope that Harry will realise that my wards, which haven't even failed once in more than one hundred years, were better than those of the goblins,'_ Albus thought, when he readied himself to pull through with his idea that he had planned for more than a year. _'He should know that he can always turn to me for help.'_

HP

It was on a Saturday morning at breakfast, two days before the beginning of the OWLs, that Harry suddenly heard a voice speak to him. He knew the voice well, especially since he had made it a habit to talk to her at least once a week, however, it was more than unusual that she spoke to him in the middle of the Great Hall. It was the castle herself.

"Harry, I can feel my wards come down," Hogwarts warned him, right before the ghosts floated into the Great Hall and informed him that they had spotted Death Eaters walk up the street from Hogsmeade.

Harry rose from his chair and cast a Sonorus charm on himself. "Hogwarts and the ghosts have just informed me that our wards are down and Death Eaters are on their way to attack our school. Please go through the doors to my ship, of which I explained to you a few weeks ago, and wait there until we call you back. Go right away, and go in lines of two people without pushing others. My house-elves will give you breakfast on the ship." With that, he charmed the door to become visible and noticed in relief that all students complied and queued to get through the doors.

He quickly sent his stag to Sirius and Amelia before he turned to his wife. 'Thank Merlin we made the door quite large,' he thought to her. 'Please go with them.'

'No way,' Hermione gave back, and Harry realised that Neville, Susan and all of the teachers remained as well.

"Emma and Dan, please go with the students and keep an eye on them," he ordered his parents-in-law, glad that they complied, apparently knowing that their knowledge of Defence spells would be no match for the Death Eaters. "Madam Pomfrey, please remain in the entrance hall. We might need you afterwards," he instructed the healer, who nodded, seemingly calm.

Harry quickly cast invisibility charms on Hermione, Susan and Neville, before he headed out onto the grounds. "You take the Death Eaters, I'll deal with Voldemort," he whispered to his friends and wife as they went.

"Are you not going to make yourself invisible?" Remus queried as he caught up with Harry.

"No. I'm going to vanquish Voldemort in a proper fight, not with unfair means like invisibility," Harry replied, shrugging, and opened the entrance doors.

He almost began to chuckle upon seeing Voldemort walk up to the castle with no more than six followers.

"Okay, attack the Death Eaters before they know what happened," he instructed his own group, before he cast a Sonorus charm at himself.

"Hello Tom-Dolores, what brings you and these miserable number of Death Eaters here?" he addressed the evil wizard turned witch.

"I am the Dark Lady," Voldemort replied, coldly, "and I came to finally finish you off, Potty."

"Good luck for that," Harry replied, as he pulled his sword, noticing from the corner of his eyes how Susan, Neville and Remus stunned the Death Eaters, who had remained behind their Dark Lady, before Hermione and Godric took them down with their swords.

Prepared on the spell that Voldemort was going to cast first, he apparated out of the green curse's way, only to re-appear right next to the evil witch.

Before the Dark Lady had the chance to recover from her surprise, Harry said, "Bye Tom-Dolores," smirking as he allowed his sword to run its course.

An instant later, the first Aurors arrived, making their way from the Apparition border to Hogwarts on broomsticks.

"Is that...?" Tonks began to ask, however, trailed off in apparent disbelief.

"Voldemort is dead," Harry confirmed, pointing at the figure that was lying on the ground with its head separated from the rest of the body.

HP

A short while later, Harry walked behind his friends and the teachers to Gryffindor Manor, where the elves would throw a huge party for their victory over Voldemort.

"It was so easy, much too easy," Harry said to his wife. "I can't believe that was it."

"You've done a lot beforehand," Susan reminded him. "It was because you captured or killed his followers in advance that he arrived here with only six Death Eaters."

"Exactly," Neville agreed. "Had there been a large number, it would have been much more difficult."

HP

After a whole weekend of partying, which had only been interrupted for Harry due to an urgent Wizengamot meeting on Sunday evening, the OWL tests began, and while Harry found it extremely annoying to take his OWLs for the second time in his life, an idea popped up in his mind. _'I'll discuss the matter with Hermione tonight,'_ he resolved, as he concentrated on the task ahead.

Right after the end of his practical test in the afternoon, he returned to his rooms and scribbled a letter, before he called Gina from Potter Manor and gave her a few instructions, hoping to have a reply before his discussion with his wife.

At dinner the same day, the whole school noticed in surprise that a guest was sitting between Augusta Longbottom and Minerva McGonagall - the Minister of Magic. Apparently knowing that everyone was hungry, especially the fifth-years after their OWL exam, the minister waited until after the main course, before she made her announcement, which was not exactly a surprise for Harry, as the Wizengamot had discussed the matter in detail.

Amelia greeted the professors and the students and announced that she wanted to award the Order of Merlin first class to a couple of students and two teachers for vanquishing Voldemort. "As far as I know, it was Harry Potter who got rid of Voldemort, however, during the meeting of the Wizengamot, he insisted that Hermione Potter, Neville Longbottom, Susan Bones, Remus Lupin and Godric Gryffindor should receive the same award as it wouldn't have been possible to vanquish Voldemort without their assistance."

Huge applause came up as the mentioned students walked up to the head table to receive their rewards.

Harry smiled upon seeing Amelia pull her niece into a bear's hug, before he stepped over to the minister to be given his award as the last of the receivers.

"Harry, here are your parchments back along with the confirmation from the ministry," Amelia informed him in a small voice, before she handed him the Order of Merlin.

Harry let out the breath that he had not noticed he had been keeping. _'Thank Merlin,'_ he thought, as he profusely thanked the minister.

"Excuse me, may I say something?" Harry asked, turning to the headmistress.

"Of course my boy," Augusta Longbottom replied, smiling.

"Thank you Minister, for awarding us the Order of Merlin. I have the feeling that I don't deserve it at all, considering how easy it was to get rid of Voldemort. Well, I have decided to have the goblins put the money that goes with the award into a foundation vault, from which every year two students, one with magical roots and one muggleborn student, will receive a scholarship for Hogwarts." Ignoring the applause, he continued, "Since I don't know many future Hogwarts students, I will need everyone's help to find two students in need every year. Thank you all in advance for your assistance."

'You were brilliant,' Hermione thought to him, when he returned to the empty seat next to her at the Slytherin table.

'As are you, my dear wife,' Harry thought back, before he informed her that he needed to speak with her in private before joining their classmates in the fifth-years' study room.

HP

"Amelia Bones has issued a certificate for us that fully acknowledges the NEWTs which we have taken in the past," Harry informed his wife, when they were seated on the sofa in the founders' quarters. "I was thinking about skipping the NEWTs, aging us up two years and becoming of age to change to the teaching side. What do you think?"

Hermione remained thoughtful for a few minutes, before she replied, "Oh well, it has its merits as well as its disadvantages, but you're right. We only had the founders de-age us because of Voldemort, and now that he's gone, we could do that. It would have another good side," she added, chuckling mischievously.

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "And what might that be, Lady Potter?" he asked, curiously.

"We could see to the continuation of the line of the owners of Hogwarts," Hermione replied, smirking, causing Harry to stare at her in complete surprise.

"You want children?" he asked, incredulously. "Sorry, it's not as if I didn't want any. I'd love to have children, but I'd have thought that you'd rather wait for a few more years."

"Yes," Hermione replied, still smiling, "however, seeing how cute little Hermione and her baby brother Harry are..." She slowly trailed off, before adding, "Every time we go to the past, I can't help wishing we had our own children as well."

"All right my dear," Harry agreed, suddenly feeling extremely happy.

HP

Albus Dumbledore stared at the newest edition of the Daily Prophet in disbelief. _'I helped Harry get rid of Voldemort,'_ he realised, feeling contented on the one hand, however, disappointed on the other, considering that no one could know about his grade of assistance in the matter. He pondered the matter for the rest of the day, before he made a decision. _'I'll inform Harry,'_ he resolved and proceeded to write a letter.

 _'Dear Harry,  
Congratulations to your victory over Voldemort. It was my pleasure to bring down the wards luring him onto the Hogwarts grounds at a time when he had only six followers, so that you could easily vanquish him. I am glad that I could help and you are very welcome.  
Best greetings  
Albus Dumbledore'_

HP

Harry stared at the letter in disbelief, before he showed it to his wife. 'How dare he!' he thought to her.

Before heading to his Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL, he quickly penned a response.

 _'To the old coot that lives to annoy me,  
I can only say HOW DARE YOU ENDANGER HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS' LIVES? I am sad to say that I consider you no better than Voldemort.  
Harry'_

Casting an ancient tracking charm to the owl that was not recognisable with the future's usual search spell for tracking charms, he sent the owl back to Dumbledore, before he made his way to the Defence classroom, where he imagined the dummy at which he had to cast his spells to be Dumbledore.

It was about twenty hours later that the tracking charm informed him of Dumbledore's whereabouts.

"He's in Italy," he informed the teachers after dinner. "I wonder what we could and should do against him though."

"Finish him off," Flitwick suggested, causing Harry to give the tiny professor a questioning look.

"A good idea, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life in Azkaban," Harry replied, only to add, smirking, "If I wanted to do that, I'd have one of my house-elves exchange his lemon drops with new, tampered ones."

"A wonderful idea," Augusta Longbottom spoke up, "and I believe that he fully deserves it. He was already sentenced to ten years of Azkaban before he escaped. Remember what we did to 'second time' Death Eaters."

"I agree, even if it makes me sad to think what has become of him," McGonagall added. "I believe sending him a Portkey leading right into the veil would be much more uncomplicated than brewing that special batch of lemon drops, wouldn't it?" she then suggested, looking from Harry to Severus.

In the end, they decided that Harry should call for a Wizengamot meeting, where Dumbledore's fate would be decided.

HP

The Wizengamot meeting took place on Sunday morning, and to Harry's surprise, everyone unanimously voted for Minerva McGonagall's solution of making a Portkey for him right into the veil.

"Harry, you're not happy with the Wizengamot's decision, are you?" Hermione asked in apparent concern, when they were spending the evening in their quarters together with Godric, Fawkes and the two griffins.

Harry let out a long sigh, before he explained, "I thought when I finished off Voldemort, I wouldn't have to kill anyone else anymore. However..."

"Harry," Godric interrupted him in a firm voice. "I don't have a problem killing him, considering how he endangered Hogwarts and its students and teachers. I'll make the Portkey and I'll personally deliver it to him in my phoenix form."

"Really? Would you do that?" Harry asked, giving the founder a hesitant look.

"Of course," Godric confirmed, smirking. Apparently knowing that Harry would not be able to relax before the matter could be let aside, he immediately took an empty parchment and changed it into a Portkey that would activate on a trill which Fawkes supplied, so that Godric would be able to activate it while being in his phoenix form.

"Thank you Fawkes. I didn't think you'd participate in such a thing," Harry said to their common familiar.

#I will only if it is really deserved,# the phoenix replied, before he lowered his head in front of Harry's hand to have the young wizard pet him.

Gently stroking Fakwes' crown feathers, Harry absentmindedly watched Godric transform into his phoenix form and flash away.

"He really looks like Fawkes in his Animagus form," Hermione observed, causing Harry to nod.

He sighed in relief when Godric reappeared just two minutes later. The founder changed back into his human form and stated, "Done."

Harry profusely thanked the first mentor that he had ever had, before he sent stags to Amelia, Sirius, Augusta and Minerva to inform them about the fait accompli.

HP

During the OWL week, especially after his conversation with his wife, Harry had spent much time thinking about their future. Finally, he decided to speak with the professors and hear their opinions before heading to the past, where they would make their final decisions on different matters.

On the day before the leaving feast, Harry made his way to the head table and asked the professors for a meeting in private.

"Of course Harry," the headmistress replied, readily, and invited everyone to her office for an instant meeting.

Accompanied by his wife, for whom some of his ideas would also be new, and Godric, Harry followed the teachers to what he still deemed as the most beautiful office at Hogwarts.

 _'I hope they'll all take it well,'_ he thought, before he slowly began to explain his ideas.

 _tbc..._

 _Thank you very much for your kind comments!_


	28. Chapter 28

**The Foundation for the Future**  
 **by Healer Pomfrey**

 _All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

 **COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC. Dumbledore/Weasley bashing! It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it.  
** **If you don't like it, go and find something else to read or write your own story to your liking!**

* * *

To Harry's relief, not only the future's professors but also the founders agreed to his plans. When Harry and Hermione returned to the future on Harry's now eighteenth birthday, as Salazar had aged them up two years, all four founders as well as Ceridwen and Gawain with their children accompanied them to assist the young couple with their project.

During the remaining weeks of the holidays, they did not only completely renovate and change the common rooms of the four houses, but they built three more houses using so-far unused parts of the castle.

"It makes sense to have a house for each class," Rowena explained, when they led the future's professors through the newly built houses. "In our time, we were only four professors before Ceridwen and Gawain began teaching, and we could only look after four houses. However, considering the number of teachers you have, it's better to sort the students by age than by their character, which can lead to big house rivalries like you have experienced them in the past."

"I fully agree," the headmistress concurred. "I believe though that the teachers need to look in on the common rooms every evening now, as the students won't have any older students to ask about homework or other problems."

"Each of the year teachers should spend the thirty minutes before curfew in their houses like I always did," Severus spoke up in a soft voice.

"I will also spend some time in each house once a week," Harry said, smiling, when Hermione thought to him 'Beginning with the first-years on Mondays? I'm sure they're going to be waiting from Tuesday onwards to having you there again.'

"Are you not going to have your own year, Harry?" Remus asked in clear surprise.

"Harry will become the new headmaster," Godric replied, causing everyone to look at Augusta Longbottom.

"I will remain as Harry's and Minerva's assistant," the kind old witch answered the unasked question. "Considering that Harry is also the head of the Wizengamot and is going to teach together with his wife, he'll have his hands full."

HP

It was in the morning of the last day of holidays that Harry said to his wife, "Let's go to Hogsmeade."

"Hogsmeade? Now? Why?" Hermione asked in confusion, looking up from the lesson plan, which she just studied for the umpteenth time to make sure there were no errors in it.

"Today's the opening of the Weasley twins' joke shop," Harry informed her, smirking, and showed her a small parchment.

 _'Invitation to the grand opening of Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes, Hogsmeade main street, 10 a.m. on 31 August.  
As our main sponsor, you're expected to participate in the event together with your wife.'_

"Main sponsor?" Hermione read aloud, shaking her head in apparent annoyance.

"Oh yes, sorry, I meant to tell you that I gave them the money for their shop, but above all the changes we made to Hogwarts..."

"It's all right, Harry. Oh well, let's go then," Hermione replied, as she cleaned up her desk with a flick of her wand.

HP

On the first of September, many surprises were waiting for the students. When they entered the Great Hall, the four large house tables had been replaced by seven smaller tables. Numbers were floating over each of the tables, indicating where the students of each year had to take their seats.

Harry observed from the head table, where he was sitting between Minerva and Hermione, how everyone but the seventh-years seemed outright happy at the prospect of sitting together with their friends. _'Oh well, our class is the sixth-year. The seventh-years are the only ones that still grew up with house pride and rivalry. They'll have to get used to it,'_ he thought. _'Somehow, I like Hogwarts much better as it is now.'_

When everyone was seated, Augusta Longbottom rose to greet the students. "Welcome to the first-years and welcome back to our older students. As you can see, you're now sitting together with your classes and you will also live together. We have completely abolished the house system and thus the Sorting ceremony. Together with the four founders of Hogwarts, Harry and Hermione Potter have built three new houses. Professor Emma Granger, our History of Magic teacher, will be the head of the first-years. After the welcoming feast, she will come to your table and lead you to your house. To the older students, your head of the class will also guide you to your house after dinner."

She waited a moment until the loud cheering ebbed down, before she continued, "As of today, Hermione and Harry Potter are the professors for our new subject Ancient Magic. It is elective, however, begins from first year onwards. You still have time to decide if you wish to take this subject until Sunday evening." Glancing at Harry, she added, "This class even involves a time travel to the time of the founders of Hogwarts for one week during your seventh year."

This time, a tumult broke out, which showed Harry that all students at least up to sixth year were surely going to take their class.

"Excuse me, what about this year's seventh-years?" Someone asked from the seventh-years' table. "Will we be able to travel as well even if we can only begin to take the subject now?"

"Of course," Hermione replied, smiling.

"There's one more change that you need to be made aware of," Augusta continued, causing the students to quieten down again. "From today onwards, Professor Harry Potter will be our headmaster, while Professor McGonagall remains his deputy and I will be his assistant." With that, she once again sat down between Hermione and Severus.

Harry rose from his chair. "Thank you Madam Longbottom. Now we won't keep you any longer, as I'm sure you're hungry. Let the feast begin."

Only after the main course, before the house-elves served the desert, Harry stood up once more. "I have just another small announcement for the first-years," he said and, seeing that he held everyone's attention, explained, "The sixth-years will help the first-years around during their first week. I'd like to ask all first-years and all sixth-years to gather here in the Great Hall after the last afternoon class tomorrow, so that you can get to know each other. Tomorrow morning, a sixth-year student will collect you at your table and take you to your first morning class, while another student will bring you to your next class and so on. I'd like to ask my colleagues to excuse the respective sixth-years for being late for their class. If you have any questions, I'll be here for you at any time."

Under huge applause, he tapped his hand against the table to make the desserts appear in front of everyone.

HP

The first weeks of the new school year passed quietly and uneventfully. While the older students seemed to be glad that the war was over and they could live in their new class houses together with their classmates and friends in peace, the first-years were outright happy to be at Hogwarts.

Harry and Hermione enjoyed teaching bits and pieces of the ancient magic that they had learned at the time of the founders to their students. Even if the subject was elective, not a single student had missed to take the class.

"Of course, they all want to travel to meet the founders," Harry said to Augusta, smirking.

"It's not only that," Augusta replied, looking through the door of her small side office to the headmaster's office, smiling. "Neville told me that the two of you are the most liked professors at Hogwarts, maybe together with Remus."

Harry could feel his cheeks turn red at the unexpected praise. "Oh, they'll get to know us better once they forget their homework or play pranks in our class," he threatened, grinning.

HP

It was in the morning of Christmas Eve that Hermione told Harry, "Yesterday, I went to see Poppy, and she confirmed that we're going to be parents next summer."

Harry pulled his wife into a passionate kiss, before he replied, "That's too cool. You're amazing. What is it going to be?"

Hermione rolled her eyes in apparent annoyance, making Harry wonder what he had done wrong. "Not it," she then informed him, "they."

"Twins?" Harry queried, quirking an eyebrow in surprise.

"Yes dear, and..." She hesitated for a moment, before she continued, "I know that we intended to name our children after the founders and Ceridwen, however, I've thought about something." Seeing that Harry was listening with interest, she explained, "We're spending so much time in the past or the founders in our time that I think it would get too confusing having two people with each name running around. Wouldn't it be better to name them after your parents?"

"That might be better," Harry had to admit. "Wouldn't Ceridwen and Godric or Rowena be disappointed though?"

"I think they'll understand if we explain it to them," Hermione reassured him. "We can still use their names as middle names, apart from the fact that we already named our pets after them."

Harry grinned. "How about Fred and George as godparents?" he then suggested.

"Maybe together with Susan and Neville," Hermione slightly corrected him. "Fred and Susan could become godparents for Lily Ceridwen and George and Neville for James Salazar."

HP

When the twins were born just one week before the beginning of the summer holidays, the whole school was waiting in front of the hospital wing to possibly be the first able to lay eyes on the babies of their favourite teachers. Only when Professor Snape showed up threatening to take year points from all students who were lingering around, the crowd shrank - just a little bit.

It was already past dinner time when Harry stepped out of the hospital wing with a baby on each arm.

"Thank you all for your patience," he addressed the group, which had even be joined by a few teachers by now. "I'd like to introduce Hermione's and my children to you. This," he pointed to the baby on his left arm, "is James Salazar Potter, and this here is Lily Ceridwen Potter."

Over the huge applause that followed his announcement, he called Susan and Neville, who quickly followed him into the hospital wing to take over their responsibility as godparents.

HP

One floo call and a few minutes later, Fred and George stepped through the fireplace in Poppy's office to also pay their godchildren a visit.

 _'Thank Merlin Hermione's asleep,'_ Harry thought upon realising the gifts that his children received from the older twins - a lifelong voucher each for Weasleys Wizarding Wheezes.

"Oh my, the whole school will envy them for that," Neville spoke up, causing everyone to laugh so much that Hermione woke up from her slumber.

"What?" she asked sleepily.

"Nothing dear, everything's all right, and you're the best," Harry replied in a soft voice, inwardly grinning.

HP

When the twins were three weeks old, Poppy allowed them to be taken by a Portkey, and the Potters, together with their extended family, some of their colleagues as well as the two couples of godparents, travelled to the time of the founders.

Everyone in the past greeted the babies with great enthusiasm and full understanding for the choice of names.

"Lily Ceridwen," Ceridwen cooed, taking the baby out of Susan's arm, while her older sister took James Salazar. "How cute!"

Seeing that their babies were well cared about for the time being, Harry turned to Hermione and pulled her into a gentle hug.

'Do you remember? Here's where everything began,' he thought to her.

'Of course I remember how we arrived here,' Hermione replied, smiling. She pointed at a spot on the carpet. 'That's where you were sitting, right next to me. It was the best day of my life.'

'Ah, I hope you're going to have even better days in your life,' Harry thought, 'but it was the foundation for our future together. I love you very much.'

'I love you too, Harry.'

 **The End**

 _Thank you very much for your kind support throughout this story!_


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